Thanksgiving

As Thanksgiving approaches, I'm one of those sappy types that actually thinks about what I'm thankful for, and thankfully enough, I don't have to ponder too long.

I'm so thankful for my wife and kids. All of them are wonderful in their way, and the degree to which they enrich my life isn't something that can be measured. Only their absence while they were at the beach this summer while I had to work gave me a peek into how much they fill up my life and heart - I'm one pathetic cat without them.

I'm thankful for my family. Crazy as they are, hers and mine are wonderfully diverse and never, ever dull. I hope for health and happiness for them all.

I'm thankful for the BMW community, a group of enthusiasts who by and large understand the transition between an appreciation for the brand and products to the friendship of others who have the same perspective. For me, the balance falls with the people, a reminder of which came with the death of Dan Erwin. Despite the true tragedy and sadness of the occasion, his funeral was time with people who are lifelong friends and we had a good time in his honor.

I'm thankful for my friends, now scattered all over the place and their continued well-being. Each of them has a special place in my heart, and one day I hope I can return all the favors they've done for me.

I'm thankful for what I've accomplished in my career. I've traveled the world, seen a lot of things and been a part of many really rewarding parts of the business. At the end of the day, a career that lets you express your passion and get rewarded for it is hard to argue with, and I've been very lucky overall.

I'm thankful for my health, and the fact that I can play basketball three days a week and not completely suck...most of the time...

I'm thankful for all the things that I enjoy - my house, my BMW's and other nits and bits. It is hard for me to say I don't live well.

I'm leaving things out. I know I am, and you are probably thankful for that as I wrap up this particularly sappy blog. But in these tough times, I know I'm a lucky guy, and that is a lot.

Happy Thanksgiving!

BlackBerry Storm Unboxed

Well, it is finally showing up on-line (pictures at CrackBerry.com), and I have to say it looks pretty slick. If I were a BlackBerry guy, I'd be a lot more attracted to this than the BlackBerry Bold. The unboxing makes it look like a lot of homework has been done - I'm definitely going to find one as soon as they're out there and have a peek!

Android - Is it scary?

Ed Baig at USAToday just offered up his view of T-Mobile's Andriod-based G1 phone, and wonders aloud how much of a hit it is to the iPhone. If you aren't familiar with Android, it is Google's competitor to Microsoft's Windows Mobile OS (WM6) for smart phones and less directly Apple and the iPhone.

Why do I say "less directly" in the case of Apple? Easy:
- iPhone is a "locked" hardware and software platform
- WM6 is a somewhat locked software platform that has certain hardware requirements (though that is less true than it was 18 months ago - we'll get to that later...)
- Android is an open software platform that has virtually no direct requirements on hardware.

So Android is a much more direct shot in my mind at WM6 than iPhone, at least in my mind...

With the iPhone, Apple has the luxury of owning both the hardware and the software, and like it or not has some control over what applications run on the platform. The benefits are extreme consistency of experience and stability. The downside is it gives Apple more power than some would like. It makes great sense in terms of a business model and branding, and the ultimate benefit to the user community is a level of quality I'm guessing will be lacking on other platforms at the price of full freedom of the development community.

Contrast that to WM6. On the one hand, Microsoft had some pretty rigid rules for the hardware - the buttons had to be placed just so, but Microsoft didn't do much more than that to provide rules and structure to the user experience. The result was that the best devices running the OS like the Palm Treo, the Samsung BlackJack and the Motorola Q weren't all that different in a lot of ways, and their utility lived and died by how well Microsoft implemented the WM6 platform. Also, there isn't any central way to get applications for WM6 devices, which can be a good thing and a bad thing. Lastly, the lack of any enforced guidelines for application behavior means that you'll get the absolute best of the developer community as well as the worst. And the worst can be pretty bad. (This isn't to say that there aren't bad apps on the iPhone, by the way...). Given how decentralized application purchasing is, it seems hard to bet on the platform as a developer.

Enter Andriod. Cool, open-sourced, no rules on hardware design, lots available tools and complete freedom to make it work like you want it to work. There will also be both the decentralized purchase options (e.g. websites from the developer, the phone provider, etc.) for buying apps for the phone as well as the Android Marketplace as a one-stop shop. AAAAAaaah freedom!!

But just like the world outside of technology, freedom carries a price. Most mobile phone providers aren't used to developing their own OS (except Palm, who shot their touch enabled, widget-like mobile OS a while back in favor of Windows Mobile). As someone who has some insight on integrating hardware and software, I can tell you it isn't a picnic. The virtual chains of WM6 (and the iPhone OS) do have a couple of huge benefits: consistency and predictability. As a former Samsung BlackJack user, I could pick up a Treo or a Q and be in business right away. With Android, you'll have a range of hardware and implementations as the manufacturers extend from the Android base. The very modularity of Android will guarantee that the manufacturers who take it and make it their own experience will more than likely make it virtually unrecognizable.

The closest parallel I can think of right now is the latest products from HTC (who also happen to make T-Mobile's G1...) that are based on WM6.1. The HTC Diamond and more recent Touch HD run a really gorgeous user interface that really leverages touch to a high degree. It also solves one of my big complaints as a WM6 user, which was I had to "dig" too far for many common things - pictures, music, browser, calculator, note-taking and others. Excellent? Yes! Recognizable as a Windows Mobile experience? Not really. I suppose Microsoft looked at Android coming and loosened the chains, and it is hard to argue with the results - the HTC products are extremely slick.

So Android is really open and Microsoft is becoming more open. Does this mean bad things for Apple? I think it certainly means more competition. Apple has been very careful in what they've allowed the iPhone to do. It still doesn't do video, multimedia messaging, cut and paste and more. It seems like they are doing only the things they can do well, which also offers the ability to improve the product from version to version. But you can bet that the non-Apple providers will go straight at those gaps in the iPhone feature set and attack with a vengeance. What is Apple's biggest defense and advantage in the face of this competitive inferno?

My answer? Chains.

The rigidity of the hardware and software platform ensures that how things work will be extremely consistent, and consistency is a good thing. An iPhone will always feel like an iPhone and simplicity is a good thing. Also, the central experience for adding applications to the iPhone through iTunes and the iTunes store means you'll always know where to go (and Apple with always profit).

The decentralization of the experience and adding applications/utilities will mean that Android will likely evolve to be a very rich platform, but a decentralized one. Hardware vendors who understand leveraging hardware and software together will make it their own and benefit from the results. Trying to make hardware and software beautiful together isn't simple (just check out RIM's bumpy road developing the Blackberry Storm...). Application developers will have to struggle with potential hardware diversity, so in a real way there will be some limitations on what they can do if they choose to reach down to phones that aren't touch enabled or have unique hardware.

Don't get me wrong, I think both WM6.x is far from dead and Android is very important for the industry, but it will take a little while for the dust to settle and for the winners to challenge Apple's "keep-it-simple" iPhone. Ultimately, Apple is going to have to up the ante a bit, but they've been pretty savvy to date, and frankly the engine that allows them to profit from most dimensions of the iPhone wave positions them well to invest.

It certainly won't be dull to watch...

The Joy of Six

I drove the M635 to work today.

It has spent most of the summer in the garage. Things have been insane-busy lately: work is on fire, multiple overlapping projects due, had to refinance the house, the market is on tilt, both my of my parents remarried, my youngest has been having nosebleeds in the middle of the night, I've been getting back into my basketball game, we've got to replace some furniture... sheesh. I've been driving the iX, bowing to gas prices and general practicality. And I like the iX a lot - E30's are fun.

But I was late for a meeting, and it was already out in the driveway, so I dashed out, slammed the briefcase in the trunk and off we went.

Hmmm...traffic is stacking up at that intersection a bit, so let's take that happens-to-be-curvy back way. Yea, that loud, gravely rumble is pretty cool, think we'll skip the radio this morning.

And what do you know, the sea of cars is opening in front of me on the on-ramp. Cosmo wants to stretch the legs a little so my right foot responds appropriately. The engine is like music: as much as I hate the look of what the previous owner referred to as the "elephant dick exhaust" I really, really like the sound. It isn't gratuitously aggressive. It isn't creating attitude from thin air. But really does sound...purposeful....as I wind it out and cruise past bored commuters.

Ah...the exit is coming up. Brake to the downramp as I pick the line. A slow wind back to earth, close to work and the grind. I glide past the E92 M3 in the parking lot and pull into my usual spot, off and away from most cars. I glance back and get what seems to be a vaguely accusatory look from the car, not unlike the ones I get from my kids when it is time to leave someplace fun ("It was only nine miles").

But I'm left with a smile on my face, and really that is what makes me love this car. My E36 M3 was a nice car, and made me giggle to drive, but the M635 catches my eye and makes me drool a little, and it lifts my spirits without fail when I turn the key. Lord knows I needed it today.

And at the end of the day, that is the reason I have it - I really enjoy this car.

BMW CCA Marks Dan Erwin's Death

I was in Atlanta last weekend for Dan's funeral, and it was exactly what I'd hoped - the best of times by benefit of the worst occasion. The service was a celebration of an amazing life, and I'm really glad I went. It inspires me to look at life as a long road that doesn't have to narrow or slow before it ends.

I got to drive my friends Alpina B10 BiTurbo down and back - what a treat! An amazing piece of automotive fun in beautiful condition, and it was extreme generosity to get the chance for the seat time.

Anyway, the BMW CCA published some tributes to Dan (including mine), though I wish they'd keep them pinned to the top...

Dan Erwin - One of my best car pals - died the other day

I just found out today that Dan Erwin was killed in a motorcycle accident the other day.

You may not know his name, but he wrote many articles for Bimmer Magazine, Roundel and others. He was a true BMW enthusiast and gonzo writer. One of my favorite BMW articles ever was one he wrote that chronicled the adventures of "Crusty" - the 2002 he patched together and drove to the BMW CCA OctoberFest when it was in Colorado. Here is a link to one of the articles he wrote about it...

I spent many hours drinking beer with Dan when he came to SouthEast SharkFest (the 6'er event held every year - he came to most of them). He encouraged me to write my article for The Roundel the first year I attended (he wrote the article for Bimmer that year), and bestowed upon me his version of knighthood - "Fellow Dog Lackey of the Press". He was always good for a story, and since he traveled the world and was such a boundless and adventurous personality, they were always great. His was the first M635 I ever got to drive. Probably the best car compliment I ever got was Dan telling me I was crazy to put my car at risk for a beer run (I was totally sober, but there was a HUGE thunderstorm heading in). For Dan, running out of beer at SharkFest would have been a disaster, so I knew his heart was in the right place. As with most of my time with Dan, that little trip had more than it's share of adventure.

I spent more time than usual with him this year at SharkFest, and it reminded me of the community of people I've found through that event. I said once that my biggest problem at SharkFest was a wealth of good company. Dan was a big part of that, and I'm very, very sad to lose him.

RIP Dan - I'll hoist many a beer in your honor.

iPhone Pros and Cons

Pros

Living with it so far is just what I'd hoped - easy access to e-mail, pix, stocks, weather, etc. etc. I've used almost everything on the main panel except the Notes (which is a matter of time) and YouTube (which won't get many clicks). If there is a way to move the icons, I haven't noticed it yet, but no biggie. My old phones made it so hard to get to any things like a calculator, maps, stock, etc. that I pretty much never used them.

Love how it capitalizes addresses, cities, states, etc. automatically. I was so tired of capitalizing the "C" in "NC" on the WM6 Blackjack

The visual voicemail and the whole phone interface are great. Just as easy as they look.


Cons
Battery life is pretty much a day if you're messing with it at all. I'm going to have to get used to carrying the data cable so I can charge from USB, or get a new one to run around with.

I wish there were some other way to get pictures on the thing other than iTunes, especially since my pictures are mainly on my ThinkPad. My wife and daughter use the iMac for their iPods, etc., so that creates an issue. As it turns out, I can install a copy of iTunes on the ThinkPad and just use it for pix - which means I won't be able to do that on the Mac. Ah well.

The bottom part of the case seems warm with continued use.

I'm still feeling very gentle and nervous about it. I'm going to hate the first scratch...

I'll update this a bit later...

iPhone Arrives and the Journey Begins...

So....after over a week of waiting and a fairly disappointing experience with AT&T in terms of how well they managed my order for the iPhone, it has finally arrived. To get ahead of myself, I'll say that I already love it. It is pretty quickly becoming a device I live with, as opposed to just a phone or an iPod.

As for AT&T, two days after I ordered the phone (and was told 3-5 days) I recieved an e-mail with an order confirmation and a link to check my order status. Since it had been a while, I figured it was safe to click and check.

After filling in the order number from the e-mail and my wireless number, it gave me an error saying it couldn't find my order. Then it offered to check using my billing zip code and mobile number. No dice.

I gave it a day and tried again. Nada. I called the automated number associated with the order status, and it was having nothing to do with me. The next day it gave me a tracking number!! Unfortunately, it turned out to be for the GoPhone SIMM I'd bought for my wife a month earlier...

So I called AT&T customer service. They can't see that information. I called the store, and they pretty much said you have to wait until you get your call telling you it is there. I'd heard on line that a number of folks who'd ordered the same say I did already had their phones. Net: It was chaos.

If it sounds like I was a little frenetic about the order, it was mainly a matter of how utterly devoid of information at every turn and a frustration about it. I pretty much expected to wait a week or so for the phone, but I was mainly just amazed at how bad the communication was - AT&T would have done better to never send the e-mail, create the link or offer the phone number. The link only worked when my phone was shipped, and it arrived the next day. I was promptly called by the store, and the delivery experience was painless and fast.

I took pictures to detail the out-of-box experience with the phone as well as the Piel Frama case I ordered. Since I get to do some of this at work, the details are interesting.

Nice, small box, which makes flying these things over from China possible and makes container shipping really cheap per device. Smart.

Here are a few more pix of the unboxing.









The Piel Frama case arrived today, and while I'm really pleased with the quality and size of it, it does seem a half-step down from what I've seen in the past from Vaja. Unfortunately, they haven't come up with a horizontal pounch, so I've gone a different direction. Unboxing of the Piel Frama case:









The look of the case is great - very understated and subtle. The leather feels great, and it feels very sturdy as well. So tomorrow I start my first day with the complete setup.

I'll come back with some praises and beefs next time...

SouthEast SharkFest 2008

Below is my "Thank You" post on Roadfly to the organizers and attendees of SouthEast SharkFest 2008. I wanted something from my love of E24's and the folks I've met through SharkFest to be included on my first official day of blogging:

"Part of the whole SharkFest experience has always been a long road to and from the event, usually starting alone, but meeting up with the gang on the way in (Ooops Barrel!), and rolling out in a pack for the long ride home.

This year was a little different - I drove only a short way (~100 miles). I drove in without a pack, but with a late registrant who probably didn't realize how many words he'd have to deal with in less than 90 minutes (my wife scolded me for not warning him). I didn't really wash or prepare my car, and sort of rolled into the event. I got to talk to a lot more people, both new and old. A number of folks I've been waiting to meet for quite a while were there for the first time, and it made it seem like the first SharkFest for me in a lot of ways.

What didn't change was the sense afterward that we're all part of something really good. Nat and Kai pour their heart into the event, and it was really inspirational to see people like JT, Andrew, Chris Gregor and so many others who devoted so much of their time at the event to making the event happen. Having helped in previous years, it is a really gratifying thing, but you do sacrifice some of the experience - my hat is off to everyone who pitched in so much, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I'm pretty sure that goes for everyone who came. The cars, as always, were great - I love the variety and the love that keeps them alive. It was great to see SESF folks helping each other with the various things that go wrong with these twenty-something year-old cars. As always for me, breakfast was a big highlight. It is a lot of fun, and I'm already looking forward to scouting the next one.

I was really excited to see so many new faces. Jeff's enthusiasm for his first SESF was contagious, and Wolfie is a car with great stories. I love the shiny ones, but the coolest cars, shiny or not, are the ones with stories. I'm also really loving the trend of folks bringing their spouses and kids - it says we're doing it right.

There are a lot of folks who I get to see every year who just plain make me smile. We've got a diverse (and very interesting) crowd, and I'm grateful to know them (and I hope they know who they are). If you're looking for examples of what good things can come from the internet, SESF and all the people I count among my friends from it are great ones to start with. If I have a regret, it is that I never get to connect with as many folks as I'd like to, and rarely for as long as I'd like to when I do. I guess that is one of the reasons I look forward to the even so much - no matter what, I know my biggest problem will be the wealth of good company. It really feels like an extended family.

So...as much as I find it tough to think the next SharkFest will top the last, it always does. I just wanted to thank all of you, the organizers, volunteers and attendees, for a great SharkFest experience. It was a really great and fun time!

2009 doesn't seem so far away!"



My Picassa Web Album of SouthEast SharkFest 2008 is here.

The iPhone

Well, considering I'm mainly a car-guy, it seems a little strange to start my Blog with the iPhone,
but it is the thing most in my mind at the moment.

My wife "gave" me one for Father's Day, and I have to admit I'm looking forward to it. I couldn't quite be tempted to one with the first generation. Edge speed just wasn't enough for me, and while I've REALLY wanted an iPod for some time, the last thing I want is another gadget in my pocket. With not only 3G speed but GPS capability, I'm sold, and will be part of the masses next Friday (July, 11).

I'm really laughing at most of the press coverage, since it mainly seems to compare iPhone v2 to iPhone v1, which isn't nearly enough. Comparing it to the 3G BlackJack or the newest 3G BlackBerries would be more fair in terms of subsidized cost and rate plans, not to mention day to day living.

Lack of 3G made iPhone v1 more of an iPod with phone capability (that is a little extreme, but let's go with it). The web browsing on the go was painful with Edge and lack of GPS limited real exploitation of web-enabled location services. Fine. It was still a milestone product, and by far the best iPod ever when announced.

iPhone v2 with 3G and GPS (and the really interesting WiFi access point location capability) put it way out in front of pocket computing and communication. No other phone will do as much as easily as the 2nd gen. iPhone (there are phones that do more, but at a huge cost in ease of use).

When you compare iPhone to any WM6 phone in terms of 3G plan rates and overall cost, it is still the best deal going. All these press guys who aren't used to covering SmartPhones need to compare iPhone v2 to a higher-end BlackBerry or the Samsung 3G for data plan and phone cost with subsidies. They make it sound like Apple is hiding the cost of the phone. Yup - just like every other smartphone provider AT&T, Verizon, etc. has. In fact, I'm guessing the whole activation process and change of model was driven by AT&T and the whole jailbreak phenomenon as anything. AT&T needed this device to follow the more traditional model.

Anyway, here's my personal take on the gripes from YahooTech and Forbes:

Cost - as mentioned, highly consistent with other smart phones and data plans. No issues for me here.

No Flash - A nice to have at best. Sacrificed for battery life, I'm guessing.

No Replaceable Batteries - Something I'd like to have, but I find I pretty much keep the same battery in my current BlackJack and charge every other day or so. I'm guessing my iPhone will be the same.

Video Recording - A nice to have. I've used it only a handful of times, and never thought the results were worth much.

No Cut-And-Paste - If I have it in my WM6 BlackJack, I've never used it. No worries

No Multimedia Messaging - don't care.

No Voice Dialing - seems like something they'd have, and a bit of a hit, but not a huge issue for me. I've never used it, but is an attractive feature.

No 32GB option - ?? How many smartphones have 32GB of internal storage? This seems like a bit of a stretch. I'm guessing this was sacrificed to space required for the battery and additional guts for phone function.

Here are three I don't see much in the press:
No microSD support: I'd really like to have the ability to put a MicroSD card in this thing, but with 16GB on board, I'll probably be OK.

No Stereo BT support - This is the biggest hit. How can the worlds best portable music player not support stereo BT? I don't think the quality and price of these is great yet, so I'm not sure I'd get one anyway, but ???

Plastic Back Cover - if the back is pretty scratch resistant, I don't care much, but I've seen some folks complain about the switch from a metal back. I'm guessing this was for several reasons, maybe even all three (in my order of importance/likelihood):
-----1 - Radio transparency. 3G wireless and the lack of an external antennae stalk probably required a back cover that is transparent to radio waves for good signal performance.
-----2 - Weight - stuffing all the battery they can in this thing probably prompted them to look for ways to shave weight to keep v2 close to the v1 weight. Moving to a plastic back probably helped.
-----3 - Cost - Plastic $ < $$ Metal

All this nitpicking really seems to miss the point. My BlackJack is a really capable device. I've upgraded it to WM6. It has a huge range of features...but it is really hard to do things like look at the pictures on the device, it is a terrible MP3 player, you have to drill down through menus for EVERYTHING - even the Explorer browser is buried 3 clicks from the Start menu.

The iPhone obliterates the ease of use equation and brings some genuinely new things to phones like visual voicemail (you can see a list of your voicemails and pick which ones to listen to). It has much more seamless integration between e-mail, pictures, etc. It is an extremely easy phone, it is by far the best phone to browse on (flash support is a gap...), photos are an integral part of the phone, mail is seamless, even things like stock tracking and weather are easy to access. Whoever designed the iPhone clearly had the gadget/widget world in mind, and understood what the Wii means to interacting with technology. Add to that the fact that it is the best iPod ever and you've got a winner.

Anyway, I'm a big fan at this point, and I'll be with the masses on Friday. Since getting one and putting it on eBay will be really hard under the new activation model, I'm thinking (and hoping) the lines won't be *quite* as bad as they were for iPhone v1.

So that is it for now - interesting to see where this will lead...