wrightin.gs

More Random Thoughts from the milk carton...

So it's been a long time since I last published a blog entry. Hell, it's almost been 3 months. Time flies when you are having fun. I have been using my twitter stream a lot which caused me to sort of ignore my blog. No more though as I am going to try and publish at least one blog entry a day on either this blog or my business blog.

Here is a collection of thoughts and happening I have had over the past couple of months in no particular order...

1. Segways are a lot of fun and hella useful. I don't know why everyone in major metropolitian areas does not own one.
2. SugarSync is the best file syncing application out there. Period.
3. Segway needs to do a better marketing job. Pick someone at random and let them borrow a Segway for a day. You will sell a lot more.
4. SmugMug is a better photo-sharing site than Flickr because it shows the photos as large as it can. It caters to your monitor size.
5. I am going to stand and wait in line for the iPhone again. I want to make sure I get a 16 G one.
6. Black vs. White iPhone 3G is actually keeping me up at night.
7. Gary Vaynerchuck is a very good speaker. He taught me the importance of personal branding.
8. The SEED 3 conference was worth every penny.
9. I need a new car. I want an Audi A5 but it is very expensive and spending money on cars is a waste of money.
10. I should just get a Segway.
11. Ordered a new Aeron chair. It's expensive but I sit in a chair all day so it should be good.
12. I want to start doing a video podcast about anything technology. Any takers for co-hosting with me?
13. I have seen someone really screw up the MVC pattern.  It doesn't count as MVC if you are still doing everything in a code behind file.
14. I need to blog more. This is fun.
15. Thinking about writing for the local newspaper on technology subjects.
16. Outlook always crashes when I exit it.
17. Internet Explorer always crashes if I go to Newsgator.
18. Windows works great as long as you have a quad core machine.
19. Launchy is a must have on Windows PCs.
20. I have been using less and less tablet functionality as of late. Thinking about making the switch to the Macbook. I just love tablets though.
21. I am selling my Lenovo X60 with extras for cheap. Email me jwright AT wrightin DOT gs if you are interested.
22. I am fed up with my Motorola DVR box. It sucks at the only thing it has to do, display television.
23. I ordered a refurbished Tivo HD DVR for $199.
24. There is a "hidden" (not thought of) cost when buying a Tivo.  Each cable card will set you back $100.
25. I hate dressers. They are very inefficent in placing clothes in and getting clothes out of. Someone please design something that is more effecient.
26. I am in love with Castle Active Record.  Seriously, it's true love.
27. CSLA.NET + Active Record = Complete Bliss. This is kind of stuff you stay home on Friday nights for.
28. Alex Albrecht's girlfriend Heather Stewart has some serious music skills. She made my iPhone cut.

Day in the Gadget Life

As others have done before such as James Kendrick and the guys at Gotta Be Mobile, I am going to document a typical mobile day for me.  I will include the software and the gadgets I use throughout the day in order to get me through the day.

For those of you that don't know, I am an independent software development consultant and I am currently working with several clients.  The following chronicals my day as it was on this past Monday.

My iPhone went off at 7 am as I use that as my alarm clock.  I grab it and check my email and calander for the day.  It helps me get organized for the day and jog my memory for what I need to do.  I then check my SMS Twitter messages to see what else is going on in my virtual world.  On Tuesdays, I also check the new music that arrives in iTunes.  If anything that interests me is released that day, I usually download it from the iTunes WiFi store so I have something new to listen to that day.

It is now time to stop playing, so I hop in the shower and get dressed.  I have a meeting at a client site and so I need to get properly dressed and not just throw on my usual jeans and t-shirt mode when working at home.  I go down to my office where my Lenovo Thinkpad X60 tablet is sitting in it's dock from the previous night.  I put it in hibernate mode (something that takes several minutes in Vista) and load it into my Tom Bihn Ego bag.  While I am doing this, I  place my iPhone into it's dock and it syncs with my desktop PC in order to grab any new podcasts that may have come down the previous night.  I then make my way upstairs to wkae up my daughter and get her ready for day care.  I grab my Tom Bihn bag and my iPhone and I am out the door to drop my daughter off and proceed to my meeting.

After I drop my daughter off, I turn on my Garmin Nuvi 350 GPS unit and head towards my client's office.  Although I have been to the client's site many times, using my GPS allows me to get around any traffic jams that may occur on my way.  Waiting for the GPS to boot up when stuck in traffic may make me miss some opportunites to redirect my route so I keep it on just in case.  My client's office is about an hour away so to keep entertained, I often listen to my podcasts that I just synced from my desktop PC.  In order to listen to these, I use the b which I do not like as a solution.  The FM transmitter makes me have to turn off the radios on my iPhone in order to not allow for any interference.  This means that all calls are routed directly to voicemail and I have to pause my podcasts from time to time on the trip to make sure I didn't miss an important phone call.  I am looking for a new solution such as a car stereo with a jack or an integrated iPod control but I have not done that yet.

Once I get to the client site, I grab my tablet and get it set up before the client gets to the meeting room.  During the meeting, I need to show the current software features that I have completed in between the last meeting and the current one.  I also need to get feedback on the current software and plan what will be done between now and the next meeting.  In order to do this I often need to flip in between tablet and laptop mode.  In notebook mode, I use the keyboard and mouse to enter data and show the application.  I show the client the software over a projector and so I put the tablet in presentation mode through the Lenovo tools.  Once that is complete, I unplug the projector and flip the tablet into tablet mode.  I bring up the meeting within Outlook and click on the Meeting Notes toolbar item in order to enter my notes within OneNote and keep a reference back to the meeting within OneNote.  I absolutely love this integration bewteen Outlook and OneNote.  During the meeting, I often have to refer back to a live web site that we use to keep the client's project in order.  To accomplish this I plug in my Merlin S720 Sprint EVDO PCMCIA card.  This allows me to access the internet without requiring me to get access to the client's internal network.  I love that fact and my client appreciates it as well.

The meeting is over at 11 am and it is now time to head back home.  I plug in the iTrip and start my podcasts listening.  I use my GPS unit to get back home as well.  When I am about 15 minutes from home, I feel the urge for Chineese for lunch.  There is a great Chinees resturaunt near my home but I forgot the number.  I grab my iPhone and use Google maps to quickly find the number and call them.  I place my order and pick it up on my way home.  I get home and dock both my iPhone and tablet.  While eating my lunch, I pull up some recorded shows from the previous night on my DVR.  I finish my leasure time and it's time to get back to work.

I go back downstairs to my office and take a look at my notes I took in OneNote.  I enter any tasks that came out of the meeting into FogBugz and Morale.  I am using Morale side-by-side as a test case before I release it.  I also enter any requirement changes into our wiki we are using to track user requirements.

I stay in my cave and slang code for several hours on my desktop computer.  I use Visual Studio to develop as well a lot of tools that augment the development.  I listen to my music and watch video podcats on iTunes.  I am often on Microsoft Messenger IM'ing people.  I use Twadget to Twitter throughout the day.

It is now 4 pm and I have another meeting with a new client.  I enter the address into my Garmin GPS, through my Lenovo tablet in hibernate mode and into my Waterfield SleeveCase bag.  I do not anticipate this to be a long meeting so I can just take my tablet and no extra power supplies or batteries.  I arrive at the meeting a little early so I through in the Sprint EVDO card and read a couple of my RSS feeds using Newsgator Online.  My client arrives to the meeting and so I again use the Outlook and OneNote integration.  I take notes in OneNote and flag any action items with an Outlook task flag which creates my tasks in Outlook.  Those tasks are then synced automatically with the Plaxo toolbar.  I can use my iPhone to check those tasks on Plaxo mobile which syncs back to Outlook.  It was a productive meeting and my (hopefully future) client is impressed with my tablet so I do a little evangeslism before I take off.

Back at home, I play with my daughters and have dinner with my wife.  Once the kids are asleep, I grab the tablet in order to do some light work upstairs where I can talk with my wife and we can watch tv on our high def 50" LG plasma.  I use my tablet in notebook mode and track my time for my various clients using Quickbooks Online.  I now have to create an estimate for a client on yet another project.  I use Mindjet Mindmanager to map out the tasks I need to complete for them.  I use this in tablet mode and it simply rocks and it is very productive.  Once I work on that a little, it is time to wind down and read some feeds.  The best use case for a tablet is the ability to lie down on a couch and read my feeds in tablet mode using Newsgator Online.

I get through my feeds and it is still early (by my standards), so I flip back to notebook mode and slang some code for my Morale project.

It was a very productive day and my gadgets and software help me get through the day.

Going to try this "twitter" thing....

As if I don't have enough to do I am going to give Twitter a whirl.  I thought at first it was for people who have nothing better to do with their time but it has grown on me.  I really like the idea now and it is great for quick ideas and shoutouts.

If you care about when I wake up and stuff you can follow me at http://twitter.com/jwright.

Random Thoughts from the milk carton...

I have been off the chart as of late.  I am having a hard time trying to find time to blog because I am working like mad on some client work and my business.

Here is a collection of thoughts and happening I have had over the past couple of weeks in no particular order...

1. Fake Christmas trees are expensive for no particular reason...especially when you move into a new and larger house.
2. I finally sent out Christmas gifts to my clients and potential clients.
3. The iPhone is the best gadget in 2007....2006, 2005,....2008, 2009, 2010...
4. Threadless is addictive.  I have ordered at least 2 new tshirts a week for the past 3 weeks.  They are only $10 a piece so how can you beat it?  They even made one that resembles my business logo (which I am wearing right now).
5. I want some Threadless retail art but they have sold out of everything and have not released anything new.
6. iTunes on Tuesdays is also addicting.
7. I need to send my tablet back to Lenovo because of a loose screen.  They sent me a box to send it back in but I can't let it go :(
8. I wanted the new Dell tablet until I found out it starts at $2600.  The new capactitive touch screen may be worth it though...giant iPhone with a bad UI (stupid Vista).
9. The ModBook finally has a ship date of January 4th.  I am not going to get one until I hear El Jobso at the MacWorld in January.  If Apple does not announce one, I will get that.
10. ActiveRecord is cool to get apps out the door but it still forces you to give up some control over your business object architecture.  May be a good DTO framework for CSLA though.
11. I can't wait to try ASP.NET MVC pattern (it has been RC'd but no time yet).
12. I love the MVP pattern for web apps....maybe the ASP.NET MVC pattern will change me.
13. My time per week = 40 hours for one client + 30 hours for another + family time + keeping up with other clients + marketing business + Morale = > 168 hours
14. Morale is going slowly...will cut out some features to get it out the door.
15. So many more ideas for Morale...it will be freaking awesome once I get the features I want in it.
16. Company blog is suffering...must find time
17. Diggnation is the funiest video podcast out right now
18. I've been trying new beers.  I get a six pack of whatever each time I get my usual and give it a whirl.  I have found a few that I like but the only problem is that I can't remember the name the next day.
19. Field mice + new house + new housing development + winter = mice in house = Orkin visits = wife standing on chairs and screaming
20. Looking into opening a new business next year...that should become fun
21. Working from home with no hours is awesome
22. Passive income rocks
23. Working with Fanzoo Technology rocks
24. Ava has about 20 days to start walking...doesn't she know she has 1-year pictures coming up?
25. Still need to get Ava birthday party invitations out
26. How did I live before my 30-inch monitor?
27. I love Method Man's son's name....Pinky Fat Fat...maybe for our next one?
28. I am starting to get the hankering for designing t-shirts again...maybe next year
29. Paranormal State is a pretty good show...I get a lot of Goosebumps
30. Writer strike sucks for The Office
31. Can't wait for Lost to start again
32. I am indifferent about Ohio State going to the national championship...don't get me wrong, I am glad but the winner will not be seen as the best team in the country because of the crazy season
33. Looking to go to LA next year for the OSU vs. USC game...any babysitters, please call me
34. Michigan...stop crying, lick your wounds, and go find someone besides Les Miles...get your wallets out and pay Bill Cowher
35. Finally reserved my room at Kalahari for CodeMash.  This better not turn out like before. It was a lot cheaper with the CODEMASH discount code.  $150/night for a suite compared to $350 the last time I was there in a suite.
36. Kalahari will open their new expansion on Christmas.
37. Jott still rocks.  I use it all the time.
38. I have a new idea for a "family organization" application...Time will tell if I can develop it.
39. I hate everything about the winter except the concept of snow.
40. I have wanted to go on a snowmobiling trip for about 5 years now.  It is cold when you snowmobile.
41. Weightwatchers sucks but it works.
42. Weightwatchers.com is expensive but it works.
43. I can't wait for the iPhone SDK.
44. Ava is a hell of a lot of fun.
45. Alecia is growing up....really, really fast.
46. I want a casino party for my 30th birthday...real tables, real dealers, real money....is that legal to have a casino in your garage for one night?
47. Where did the college football season go?
48. I have no time to play my Xbox or Wii but yet I still buy the games.
49. Mario Galaxy is not as good as I had hoped.
50. Call of Duty 4 is really, really good.
51. I am not that into Guitar Hero or Rock Band but they are fun to play at parties.
52. I hate scraping ice off of my car
53. 2 car garages always only fit one car...no matter what
54. CodeRush and Refactor! are the best tools you can get for coding in Visual Studio....if your company won't buy it for you, buy it yourself...you will save 3x that in the first week.
55. I will miss Marc Orchant even though I have only had email conversations with him.  He was a great person and I wish the best for his family which I know he was very close too.  Life is too short.
56. Blog entries take a long time to polish

Syncing Family Schedules the Nerd Way

My wife and I are in constant struggle to keep track of each other's schedules.  We both have to make family plans, appointments, doctor visits, etc. and so it is important for us to know each other's schedule.  In the past we would go through a series of phone calls while someone is waiting on us to schedule an appointment and it was a pain in the butt.  I was growing sick and tired of this process and I needed to figure out a way to keep our calendars in sync.

The first problem was getting my wife to switch from using a paper based system of keeping her appointments to an electronic one.  One of her issues was being able to enter her appointments on her mobile phone.  So I solved that by buying her an iPhone that she could use to enter her appointments when she is on the go.  I went with the iPhone because its the greatest invention during my lifetime (yes, I'm a fan) as well as it has a more simple interface to entering calendar items than a Windows Mobile calendar interface.  There are a lot less fields that are available to work with which means a simpiler interface.  She is having a hard time with the onscreen keyboard so it may not be a keeper for her but at least she is now using her iPhone to enter appointments on the go and she has gone to an electronic system.

The next issue was the fact that my wife uses iCal on her MacBook and I use Outlook/Exchange on a tablet PC running Vista.  I needed to be able to show her calendar details within Outlook and she needed to see my calendar details within iCal. 

The main piece of glue for all this is Plaxo.

Plaxo has what they call connectors within anyone's account which allows you to sync your calendar, address book information, and your tasks between many different PIM applications.  I have written about the service before when I was trying to sync my tasks with my iPhone.

Here are the steps I took for my wife's calendar data to be available for me:

1. Create a Plaxo account for my wife
2. Create a Yahoo! connection point within Plaxo which sync's her Yahoo! address book and calendar with Plaxo
3. Download the Plaxo Mac syncing program which syncs data within the MacBook's iCal and Address Book applications with Plaxo
4. Create a Google account for my wife
5. Create a Google connection point within Plaxo which sync's her Google Calendar with Plaxo

With those steps above my wife's PIM information is now synced between her Mac, Yahoo!, and Google accounts with Plaxo.  She can add, edit, or delete any information from within any of those applications and they will all be in sync.  Since she syncs her iPhone with her Mac, her mobile phone will be synced as well.  She can add, edit, or delete appointments on her iPhone which will sync with her Mac, which will in turn sync with Plaxo and all of the connectors.

Here are the steps I took for my calendar data to be available for my wife:

1. I already had a Plaxo account so I logged in
2. I downloaded the Outlook connector add-in which will sync my Exchange information with Plaxo through my Outlook client
3. I added a Google connector so that my Google calendar is synced with Plaxo

Now my calendar data and my wife's calendar data is available and synced with Google.  The next step is for both of us to consume it.  I wanted to have all the calendar data and the details available to both my wife and I and vice versa.  There are options available here so that you can only show free/busy information but I thought it would be valuable for us to see details of our calendar data so I went with that route.

Google allows you to expose your Google calendar via a cryptic iCalendar file over an HTTP address.  This is good because both iCal on the Mac and Outlook 2007 on Vista can consume the iCalendar format and subscribe to data stream.  This is updated when your calendar changes on Google.  In order to see the cryptic iCalendar data path, you must log onto your Google account, click on Manage Calendars, click on the name of your calendar, go to the Private Address section, and click on the ICAL button.  You can then jott down the address that Google gives you there.

In order to subscribe to my wife's calendar data stream, I can go into Outlook 2007, click on Tools->Account Settings, click on Internet Calendars, click on New, enter the address of the calendar data stream, and click Add.  Voila, my wife's calendar was listed in my Outlook available calendars.  I can then use the calendar overlay to help me schedule meetings, etc.

In order to have my wife subscribe to my calendar data stream, I went into iCal, click on the Calendar->Subscribe menu item, enter the address of my calendar data stream, and click Add.  My calendar data shows up in my wife's iCal in a seperate color.  She can now run my life....wait a sec, what have I done.

Becoming less mobile

I have taken on a new main client and I am now working from home almost full time.  I was using my Lenovo X60 as my main development machine.  It has kept up nicely but the power of my desktop is just sitting there.  I have decided to make my desktop machine, my main development machine.  It was not before because I was always on the run.  Since I am mostly at home during the day when I am not meeting with other clients, I can afford to move my development work to my main desktop machine and keep my files in sync.  I will document what tools I plan on using to make that happen at some point.

I have also been experiencing a lot of issues when undocking and docking my tablet because of Vista.  I have to restart my machine if I want to listen to iTunes because all of my music is on an external drive that Vista can not reconnect to after I redock.  This is a pain in the butt and I plan on moving my iTunes library over to my main machine.

Also, I will be able to enjoy a three monitor setup for the first time in a while.  I already have 2 identical 20" Dell monitors and I plan on adding a third 30" to my desktop machine.  I could not of done this will my tablet and it will be very nice.

If my desktop is not as fast and powerful as I would like it to be (it is about 2 years old), I am going to get a new desktop machine.  I am either going to build one myself (like Scott, Dustin, and Miguel) or buy a new 8-core Mac Pro.  I would like to go with the Mac off the bat but they are quite expensive and I am unsure if I will be able to use all of the tools I need to use in virtualization mode on the Mac.  I am going to test this first on my wife's Mac to see if it is plausible.  I need to be able to run IIS, Visual Studio, SVN Tourtoise, and SQL Server.  I am kinda wishin that my current desktop does not work out :)

How to sync your tasks between your iPhone and Exchange

Problem

One of the obvious missing items from the iPhone (and Mac for that matter) ecosystem is Tasks.  The iPhone has mail, calendar, and contacts but no tasks.  Sure there are plenty of online task applications such as Remember the Milk, Ta-Da List, and Gubb among a lot of others.  These really do not work for me because I live and breath in Outlook and none of these solutions sync with Outlook (although Gubb can import/export tasks).

Problem #2

Another issue of my task management strategy in addition to Outlook syncing is that I like having a mobile solution for creating tasks.  The iPhone can accomplish this through the use of the Safari browser.  All of the online task applications that I mentioned before do have a mobile (and is some instances an iPhone specific version) of their application.  This is nice but again these do not sync with Outlook.

So what is my solution?  How did I get my tasks in Outlook when I enter them in my iPhone?  Read on...

Solution

Enter the new Plaxo.  Plaxo used to be just a contact management system but now recent updates have them more of a social network aggregator.  One of the new features that they offer with their 3.0 beta is a technology called Sync Points.  You can sync your address book, calander, and tasks between several sources including Outlook, Google, LinkedIn, and Yahoo.  This is a really nice feature because now your PIM information can be synced between Plaxo Online, Outlook, Google, and Yahoo.  The best part is that you can have multiple Outlook sync points so you can sync your work and personal Outlook information for example.

The Way I Make It Work

The way that I use this to sync my tasks with the iPhone is that I installed Plaxo on my Outlook.  Outlook gets my task information from my hosted Exchange server.  I can add a task via Outlook, Plaxo Online, or my Outlook web access and they are all synced.  I can also go to the mobile version of Plaxo (no iPhone specific version yet), enter a task there and it will be synced with my Exchange server once my Outlook syncs it via the Plaxo plugin.  Plaxo only allows you to enter a date and a title for a task but you can at least capture the task and add additional details if necessary when you get back to Outlook or OWA.  It is very seemless.

No iPhone SDK Challenge

Another challenge when entering tasks on the iPhone is the lack of a true SDK.  Bringing up the browser, navigating to Plaxo mobile, and entering a task can be time consuming (especially when using EDGE) and not always appropriate in certain situations (like when driving).  This sometimes gets in the way of capturing information when I think of it and sometimes it causes tasks not to be captured.  The way that I get around this is to use Jott.  Jott is an awesome application.  It allows you to call a number from your phone and leave a message for yourself.  Jott then transcribes this to text and emails you the voice message with the body containing the transcribed text.  I use this to leave myself a reminder to "Pick up the milk" and I let Jott send this message to my Outlook.  In Outlook, I create a Task from the message by dragging it to the Task list or use ClearContext.  This task is then synced with Plaxo and all my other sync points.  Very nice and allows me to capture everything.

Extra Jott

Jott also allows you to leave messages for anyone in your contact list or a group of people.  They just added some features that allow you to create a blog post or Twitter message by calling Jott or create a reminder among other things.  Best of all, it's all free right now.

Thank You Steve

Yesterday I was pissed about the 33% price reduction for the iPhone after just 60 days.  Today, with the announcement of the $100 rebate for the early adoptors, I am happy again.  El Jobso is back to being my BFF.  Kevin Tofel sums it up the best, I think.

What I think is coming Sept. 5th

Apple has announced another press event scheduled for September 5th.  The tagline for this event is "The beat goes on".  These are always fun and I wanted to throw my thoughts and predictions in the ring. 

One of the obvious things that I believe (not surprisingly) Apple is going to announce is a 6th generation iPod that takes on the touch interface of the iPhone.  I think they are completely going away with the click wheel (it's so 2002) and going the way of the iPhone touch interface.  I don't think much will change with the iPod interface that is on the iPhone currently with one hardware button for sleep/volume.  I don't think that they will announce an upgrade to the Nano or Shuffle line even though there are some rumors out there.  They usually do this later down the line anyway.

Doing this of course will make the value of the iPhone a little less.  One of the three main pillars of the iPhone is that it is the best iPod ever made.  If they make an iPod that is just as good for obvious less money, it will make the value of the iPhone seem less than stellar.  I know many people who are just using their iPhones as iPods because they don't want to switch over to AT & T or the iPhone just doesn't replace the functionallity of their current phone.  This means that Apple should have some announcements concerning the iPhone.  They need to make it more valuable and they need to breath some life into the line that really has not had any updates (besides bug fixes) or news attached to it since it was launched.

So I believe that Apple will announce some iPhone updates.  I'm gonna bet that one of them is ringtones available through iTunes.  I believe they may also add games since the new iPod will need some updated games for the new interface.  They will offer them for the iPhone as well.  Another announcement that may not be as likely but would be a brilliant move by Apple would be the announcement of making the iTunes store available over the air over the iPhone.  Think about it.  This would make the iPhone a lot more exciting to own than just a regular iPod and it is a feature that users have been clamoring for.  They obviously couldn't do video over the slow EDGE network but they could probably add the ability to download songs from iTunes over EDGE.  They would have to save movies and videos until version 2 but it would give them a chance to test the service out now.

Those are my main predictions.  I also believe they will release some Leopard info and probably announce a firm date for availablity.  Probably give out some more feature hints as well.  I will be hoping for a Mac tablet like I always do but I really doubt that will be there.  Maybe after Leopard but well see...

iPhone : It's The Small Things

Yes, yes, another iPhone post on the web.  This should be #7,987,456 on the Google page rank when searching for iPhone but I have to get this out.

Everyone asks me why I spent $600 on a cell phone.  I have to say that the best part of the iPhone is the combination of all the small things which makes this phone a lot of fun to use.  Even making a call is more fun.  I know thats weird to people who don't own an iPhone. People who own the iPhone know what I am talking about.  I think the greatness of the iPhone is a combination of all the small things that Apple thought out.

Here is a list of my favorite the iPhone's small features:

• Size and Weight - The fact that the Apple engineers were able to cram all the things that the iPhone needs for it's features (fast processor, great graphics, touchscreen, iPod, etc.) into such a thin and small form factor is amazing and is by no means a small feature.  The thing that I consider even greater is the amount of detail and attention that went into the size and weight.  The size and weight is the first thing that people notice.  They are amazed that their cell phones which are 'just phones' are so much more clunkier and larger.  Even the size of the RAZR is horrible compared to the iPhone and that was supposed to be the RAZR's biggest feature.  I like the fact that the weight is really nice.  They could of put a plastic or a lighter metal body on the iPhone to make it lighter.  That is probably what most cell phone engineers may have done because they think that lighter is always better.  The fact that the iPhone has a little weight to it is really nice and provides a nice balance.  Everyone, even people that want to hate the iPhone, are impressed with the iPhone size and weight.
• Back to sleep after a call - When the iPhone is sleeping (display is off) and someone calls, the screen turns on and displays the caller id information right before it rings.  Once the call hangs up, the phone goes back to sleep.  That is so cool.  Not many phones do that.  Honestly, what else do you want to do with your phone.  You received the call, you were interrupted, and now you can just put the iPhone back down or in your pocket and go back to whatever you were doing before you received the call without worrying about the battery life, etc.  Well thought out.  I always had to turn the screen on my XV6700 and Treo 700wx back off after I received a call.
• Slide to <function> - Everyone has probably seen the Slide To Unlock photos which are the default screen when the iPhone turns back on manually.  This function is needed so that the user does not do something unintentional such as touch a button while the phone is being held or moved, etc.  This was very nicely implemented and thought out.  The other function that this serves is that if you require people to slide their finger across the screen once they pick the phone up, they instantly get it.  They know that the screen is a touch screen and that functions they want to get to can be performed through touch.  Very smart.  There are other Slide To functions that are needed when certain events occur.  There is the Slide to Answer when the user gets a call when the iPhone is sleeping because you do not want to accidentally answer the call in your pocket.  There is the Slide to Power Off to make sure you really want to power the phone off.  There is the Slide to Cancel when the iPhone is syncing to make sure that the user really wants to stop syncing.  There are several more but they are escaping me at this point.
• Call Back function on failed calls - I was skeptical about the phone service I would get through AT & T as I have had Cingular before and I absolutely hated the service.  I dropped a call every nine seconds.  The good news is that AT & T put a lot of money into their service and it is much, much improved.  It is the best phone (not data) service that I have had to date.  To be honest though, I have dropped calls from time to time.  The iPhone makes this less painful.  If there is a dropped call from either party (you or the person you are talking to), the iPhone defaults back to a screen that has a very large Call Back button with a message that shows the call failed.  This is awesome because on all my old devices, the phone would go back to the home screen and I was forced to look up the number again and call them back.  The iPhone allows me to call the person back with a single touch.
• Display off when talking - My biggest gripe with all the touch screen devices I have had in the past is the fact that I do a lot of unintentional stuff when the phone is up to my ear and I am talking.  I think I have played a full game of Solitaire unintentionally while having a conversation with another person.  Apple obviously knew of this problem and they came up with a nice solution that turns the display off when it gets close to your ear or it is put in your pocket.  This is probably not hard to do but it probably is hard to do elegantly.  Apple engineers did a really, really nice job here.
• No Removable Battery - Jamie, you're crazy you say.  This is one of biggest gripes from users you say.  How could this be one of your favorite features you say.  We'll I think that not having a battery, and therefore an exposed, removable battery door, solves two issues.  One, it solves the issue of the battery door becoming loose and falling off like has happened with most of my past phones.  If this happens, it is very annoying.  Two, not having an exposed battery door makes the device more sleek and nicer looking.  These two issues are more important to me than not being able to change the battery myself.  I don't think this is much of an issue for me because I probably will move on to the second generation iPhone before my battery needs to be replaced.  I am supposed to get 400 charges out of the thing.  That is more than a year.  Plenty for me.  It works for the iPod so it will work for the iPhone.
• Transitions - This is probably a pretty obvious feature for many.  I think it is a small feature to most manufacturers (and even consumers) but it is not a small feature for Apple.  The user interface is one of the main reasons the iPod claims almost all of the MP3 player market.  The nicest user interface feature on the iPhone is it's nice smooth transitions.  I am talking about how the background moves to the foreground and the app interface then takes it's place.  Its the way that the call screen flips around when you want to access the keyboard.  Its the way that the browser and photos rotate when you flip the phone around.  It's the way that the screen bounces when you reach the top or bottom of an email or web page.  Its the way that new messages fade in when sending SMS.  And have you sent an email from your photos?  The photo gets smaller, the email form flys out from behind and then the photo enlarges to fill up the email body.  It makes sending photos via email fun.  Doing these similar tasks on other devices is not as fun.  When I flip my Lenovo X60 tablet, it converts to landscape or portrait a la the iPhone.  But guess what?  On the tablet, the screen goes blank and then reappears in the new mode.  The iPhone shows the screen rotating.  So much more fun.  When I scroll down past the end of a document in Word, what happens?  Nothing.  The screen does not bounce like an iPhone.  Subtle, useful, and so cool.

So I do not care about the fact that the iPhone does not have Exchange integration yet.  I can work around that.  I don't care that it does not have cut and paste.  I can work around that.  It has gotten me to realize how far behind not only phone manufacturers are but also manufacturers of touch devices in general.  I'm talking about every manufacturer from clocks to tablet PCs.  The iPhone has shown what is possible.  I think this will show manufacturers that consumers are now thinking a lot more about user interfaces and the small things.  Don't make the small idiosyncrasies turn into big pains for the consumers.