Enabling MMS on iPhone 3.0 now!

As I spent about 4 hours doing a little of this and a little of that I thought I'd share some lessons learned when trying to get the iPhone 3.0 to have MMS now.For those that are not clear, MMS is coming to iPhone 3.0 users in the States at the end of the Summer.

While the iPhone 3.0 is ready for this basic feature now, in the States, AT&T is not.  Fortunately, it is possible for those motivated enough to do a little work and get MMS turned on now.

How did I get started?On twitter, a buddy showed off his MMS enabled iPhone:

and gave a link to http://x.insideroot.com/o/mms/ as the HOWTO on how to get it setup.

After deciding to go ahead with the challenge, I tried to follow the directions on the above page.  Very quickly I hit a roadblock.  The file the page was referring to *.IPCC and I couldn't get it to load in iTunes as a restore file.  It was not selectable.The issue turns out that I was using Safari to download the file and Safari was trying to be helpful [NOT!] by unzipping the file before I got it making it unusable. 

A quick google showed that using firefox got it to work.That was just the first roadblock. 

The second roadblock was trying to enable medianet at the end of the instructions.  The medianet page kept saying: SORRY YOUR PHONE DOESN"T SUPPORT MEDIANET.This was very frustrating as I had changed the type of phone on my account to Blackberry Bold as the doc said but still no go.

 Then another quick google uncovered this:

+++You'll need to do the following for MMS to work:

4. Call AT&T Tier Two Technical Support at 888-892-9760 press option 15.

When talking to representative explain that you are a registered software developer for the iphone and need to have your phone activated for MMS.

These are the things they need to do to make it work.

Make sure you are on a standard texting plan and not the iphone texting planb. Enable Media Net and WAP Pushc.

There are two areas in Snooper that need to be checked off to enable MMSd. They need to do a push OTA (over the air activation)

+++

So after a quick phone call to AT&T and following the script, the helpful CSR changed my messaging plan to a normal SMS [not iPhone] plan and enabled MMS and Media Net.  She then pushed the data OTA after I turned my phone off.  Voila.

That did it!  I saw my first MMS successfully sent. 

How do you know it's successful?  Well the SENDING progress bar was no longer stopping 4/5 of the way through and the red exclamation point indicating an error was no longer showing up.  That is obvious enough isn't it?

Here is what the new MESSAGING app GUI looks like when MMS is enabled.  Note the little camera icon next to the text input box.  That enables you to take a picture or choose a photo to send. 

Its very straightforward and user friendly:

The final lesson learned? If you don't enter the data into the MMS section of the CELLULAR page on the first webpage, the camera icon will disappear!  It's seems to be enabled only when it sees the proper setup on the MMS section.

I hope that helps anyone who is keen on getting MMS on their iPhone in the States now.  Of course, you can always wait!

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Is your resume sending the right message?

One of the many things I seem to be doing with this economy is acting as a career advisor.  With so many friends and family 'on the beach' as it were, I'm getting a number of requests to look over resumes for feedback.

Aside from the obvious spelling and formatting consistency checks, I'm also a stickler for economy.  I believe that words should be used sparingly and powerfully.  I know it's a REAL challenge to write with the readers limited time and interest in mind.  After all, don't we all think we're fabulously educated and qualified and doesn't  EVERYONE want to read every detail of our professional lives with keen interest?

I hate to be the bearer of bad news [it's a gift!] but most people reading resumes are doing it grudgingly.  Think of it this way.   I'm a manager and someone just quit.  Not only do my resources have to carry the weight while I look for someone, I have to look over this pile of resumes in addition to doing my already overallocated job.That doesn't sound like so much fun does it?  Keep that image in mind as you wordsmith your resumes. 

Make the resume as easy to read as possible.One big way to make resumes easy to read is to use bulleted lists.  Most people state their qualifications like this:I was the maker of widgets.  I was responsible for making high quality widgets and won an award 2 years in a row.  I taught others in my department how to make widgets.  I am also learning how to make prayer wheels.There is no guarantee that the reader will get far enough into the paragraph to see it all.

 Instead you'd be much better to lay the verbiage out in a bulleted list like this:

   
• I was the maker of widgets.
   
• I was responsible for making high quality widgets
   
• I won an award 2 years in a row.
   
• I taught others in my department how to make widgets.
   
• I am also learning how to make prayer wheels.

Isn't that much better?  Granted the trade-off is that you will use up more whitespace but I think it is worth the real estate you give up.  After all, if the hiring manager isn't reading it then what good is it doing you anyway?

Another tool that is a little more geeky is to do a wordle display of your resume.  If you don't know what wordle is read this.
To create your wordle graphic, just go to wordle.net and paste in the text of your resume.  The resulting graphic will show you which words you've been emphasizing and perhaps overusing.

Here is my resume as a wordle graphic.  What does yours look like?Do you have any resume tips to share?

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Art by the Ferry in Staten Island NY

I love happy accidents.

A friend called and invited me out at the last minute to enjoy some art in his home base of Staten Island NY.  For those that don't know Staten Island, it is a part of New York City that is more like New Jersey.  There is lots of trees, space, and fresh air.  Believe it or not!

The Art by the Ferry festival is put on annually and takes place within walking distance from the Staten Island Ferry which is one of the ways to get from Manhattan to Staten Island.  The artists display their work in store fronts, gallery spaces, and converted office spaces.  There is something for everyone and the great thing is that the art is very affordable.

Here are the photos I got from the day, enjoy!

Hooray for Hulu Desktop!

I'm sure you've heard of Hulu?

This service is a partnership between various broadcasters to put their shows online for time-shifted viewing.  That's just a fancy way of saying 'you can watch it when you want instead of when we put it on air'.Well Hulu was OK when it was introduced as a website.  The website approach meant you had to watch the shows in a browser window that took away from the viewing experience....until now.A few weeks ago, Hulu released HULU DESKTOP.  This is a program that runs on Mac or Windows and provides a different way to access Hulu.  Finally, the Hulu experience on a computer approaches the smooth and seamless approach that our AppleTV gives us on the telly.

If you haven't tried Hulu yet, now is the time to give it a try.  Download the application and setup an account.  This takes less than 3 minutes.  Once you create an account, you can subscribe to shows that interest you and as a bonus you can subscribe to clips so that you can watch only the bits of shows that interest you.

As new episodes and clips get added, the ones you subscribe to will be added to your 'queue'.  It is all very userfriendly and efficient.  No more switching channels looking for something to watch.  Now it's a tivo like world where the shows you like are waiting for you.  There are commercials but they are much less obtrusive and numerous.

Hooray for Hulu Desktop!

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Fighting for your life

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Arrow shed lessons

Rob and I have been mocked by our overflowing garage. No matter how many times we clear it out, within a few months it grows back to it's untenable form.

To help, we decided to add an Arrow Shed. That way we could be like all of our neighbors.

A few lessons:

• Check for permits being required before you buy
• Expect there to be many miscellaneous expenses other than the shed. Things like wood for the floor, anchor kits et. al.
• If the instructions say it will take 10 hours, it really will take 10 hours. It's typical that there are more than 400 screws that need to be finessed into tiny little holes.
• Speaking of tiny little holes, you'll only see them if the foundation is square and level. Fortunately, Rob did a good job on the foundation so we had little trouble.
• Arrow sheds are made in the USA which is nice. The best part is that their customer service are based in the States and very helpful. You'll get a human who can help you very quickly when you call.
• The shed is easier to get than you might think. That's because it comes in many small pieces that can be put into one large flat box. We didn't need to rent a truck!

Here's the slideshow of our slow and methodical progress. Delicious irony? The shed is very sharp and easily cuts people who aren't wearing gloves/and or careful. I managed to put the shed together start to finish without cutting myself. It was only opening the foil around our celebratory bottle of wine that gave me a nasty gash. Careful!

My own private Idaho [or how I learned to love the data]

I'm seeing a subtle transformation in the way I blog and post links.  Now that I'm on the twitter a whole lot and blogging a lot less I'm seeing that my interests are changing from watching for comments as a way to get feedback on what I post to looking at statistics on what I link to.What I mean is this:the old way
COMMENTS

---few and far between. take a lot of effort on behalf of the readerthe new way
STATISTICS

-  no effort required. You just click the link to see what I shared and I get the info.This reminds me of something back when I was working in the world of soft drinks.  Back then I learned that the profit margin at supermarkets is very low.  The fact is that supermarkets make more money selling their scan data [really yours..what you buy and who you are] to companies like Nielson and IRI.This really shows the iceberg reality of Google. You and I use google to search, share images, shop, and do all sorts of other things.  That is the tip of the iceberg.  The big part of it, that is floating underwater is the data that Google pieces together to create a picture of who we are and what we are doing.  That's a lot of ice and $$$$!

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One of the bad things about getting older

This past week has been an eye-opener for me. When I was on vacation, I heard about the unexpected passing of not one but two people I worked with. One was at a previous company and the other I worked closely with.  Their ages were really much too young to expect these things to happen so the shock was what I was really struggling with.  I couldn't imagine the hardship on their families.

Yesterday I found out that a very dear friend was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma. 

Then it dawned on me that it's only a matter of time before these types of things hit you and those you care about? When you're young you have the expectation [not always met] of being innocent of the worries of doctors and diagnoses. 

As you get older, the aches and pains of wear and tear and hard living start to catch up with you or those you love. It's bacon salt on wound of life.  As a Buddhist friend reminded me, the wheel of life includes birth, sickness, and death. There is no avoiding it.

Vacation rundown

I enjoyed a nice week in San Juan Puerto Rico and Miami with friends.  First stop was San Juan.  The hotel was lovely as were the citizens of Puerto Rico.  I have been before and waited too long to go back.  Puerto rican citizens, in my experience, are so friendly and helpful.  It's always a pleasure to talk with them as they have such a good vibe about them.

I probably gained 10 pounds thought.  We ate and ate and then we ate some more.  So many things to try and all were delicious.  The high point of the trip was having a friend who was on the island for a month drive us around to where tourists dont go.  We wound up in a beach town called Pinones which is like a working class beach with FOOD.  There are all sorts of stands selling all sorts of foods.  Loved it!  The winner of the evening was the fresh crab wrapped in sweet plaintain and fried.  I don't remember what it's called but I WANT MORE!!

Sadly the island of Puerto Rico is officially in a depression as their downturn started well ahead of the mainland US.  The tourist areas are visibly interuuped in terms of development interruptus.  The rest of the island including Old San Juan is as beautiful and vibrant as ever.  After a few days in San Juan, I stopped over in Miami to visit my very cool friends William and Jason.  They showed me around and it sure has changed since I was there for College back in the early '90s.

Here are my pics from the San Juan/Miami trip. Enjoy....

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

QUEENIE: CHECK OUT THE VAGABAND PICS>>THOSE ARE FOR YOU!

Sadly I got some bad news while I was on holiday.  A dear co-worker of mine passed unexpectedly.  Such a sweet and fun lady.  She was looking forward to and so proud of her daughter's wedding, which was to be in 2 months.   The memorial service is tomorrow and they are expecting a few hundred people because this lady was one that touched many.  My thoughts and prayers are with her family. 

Easter Weekend means MOVIES!

Rob and I spent our Easter weekend doing lots of work in the yard in preparation for the shed that we'll be putting in.  As we spent all day out in the yard, we spent our evenings watching some movies.First, we saw Bill Maher's ReligulousWhat an intelligent and humorous look at just how twisted people get in justifying their religous beliefs.  It was a very thought provoking film that illustrates that how so much of what is wrong in the world is the direct result of people checking their logic and reason at the door when putting forth their beliefs.Another movie we caught was Nick and Norah's Infinite PlaylistWhat a fun jaunt through the teenagers playground that is NYC at night.   The story follows the adventures of a young musician in a queercore band.  He's the only straight member of the band, his girlfriend just broke up with him and to add insult to injury he has a self-described Ellen Degeneres haircut.  Nonetheless, he's an adorable and intelligent young man who plays a mean bass guitar.  He and his band travel around NYC trying to stay out of trouble and the adventures they get into are hilarious.This movie took me back to my days of sneaking into Manhattan with mom's car to take my friends to Danceteria or the other hot spots of the late '80s.  The simultaneous fun and drama that only kids at this age can get into is fun to watch.So we lucked out in that we enjoyed 2 out of 2 movies and heartily recommend both.  Enjoy!

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