Well the ‘June 23rd Delivery’ was not a hoax, and I am happy to be the owner of a new Apple iPhone 4.  I wasn’t sure if it was going to come today, because FedEx had a backlog in their tracking system that prevented real-time updates.  This honestly doesn’t surprise me with all of the iPhone pre-orders being delivered.

I got my hands on the device this afternoon after going back to bed due to a horrible night’s sleep.  Thankfully I left the authorization form on the door for the FedEx driver, or I would be waiting until the 24th!

My first impressions are that "I LOVE THIS PHONE!"  Yeah, it is sleek & sexy and of course it is new.  Besides the black and steel exterior, the phone is fast (really fast) and all of the new features that Apple packed into the iOS are just amazing.  One of the best features is the camera.  I love taking photos and having a 5MP shooter is great.  The focus & flash are a welcomed addition and the video is great too.

I won’t go in-depth on this post, because I have only had my hands on the device for 12 hours.  But so far, I am glad that I decided to upgrade :)

Cheers!

Dear Apple Store Customer,

You recently received a Shipment Notification email from Apple advising you that your iPhone has shipped.

This email is to confirm that your delivery will occur on June 23rd. Although Apple and FedEx tracking information may currently indicate a later date, you can check the FedEx website the morning of the June 23rd to track your package to your doorstep.

In the event that you will not be available to accept delivery on June 23rd, it may be more convenient to use our pre-sign delivery option by visiting our Order Status website at http://www.apple.com/orderstatus.

Sincerely,

The Apple Store Team

A lot of buzz has been going around about this email and if it is an error on Apple’s part or if it is legit.  My thought is that Apple and AT&T want to take some of the pressure off of the servers on launch day and get the 600,000 pre-orders activated before the big rush.

At this point my iPhone has arrived in Newark, NJ.  So this whole ‘June 23rd delivery’ might very well be possible.

I guess we will see come tomorrow, all I can do is wait at this point :)

Cheers!

This journey started at 5:30 AM when I checked the Apple website and saw that pre-order was available, I immediately decided to get the small task out of the way before tackling my inbox.  Boy, that sure was a bad idea.  After four attempts to order, I gave up for time.

A few hours later I check back to see that the Apple online store was down.  I figured that they were working out the bugs and that this was a sign of hope.  I waited around and once the store was back up I proceeded to place my order.  Three attempts this time and no luck, it was back to my work I went.

At this point I decided I would wait until later in the day or tomorrow morning to order the phone.  I headed downtown for some meetings and stopped at the cafe for some lunch.  I decided that I would try again, hoping I would be successful.  Four more attempts later I still was unable to order the phone.  I was not going to make a reservation to pick-up my phone at an Apple store, because the closest one is two hours away.

Well after getting home, around 8 PM, I decided to give it another try.  A friend of mine told me they sold out, so I wasn’t sure if it was worth it.  I crossed my fingers and went through the prompt screens that I had seen so many times during the day, it was actually working.

SUCCESS!  At 8:15 PM I had an order confirmation screen sitting in front of me confirming my order and making the journey seem worthwhile.

So after seven failed attempts and a lot of yelling, I have my iPhone ordered.  I just hope that it will show up on June 24, as my order confirmation indicated.

Anyone else go though hell to order their new toy? :)

The money was worth it, I am so thrilled with the applications and the fact that I can do so much more with this OS.

Now, it is time to get productive and more creative :)

Cheers!

Feed My Inbox is simple, just input the RSS feed that you want to subscribe to and enter your email address.  You then receive a confirmation email and you are all set!  Additionally, you can create a signup form so that users can subscribe from your site and readers can easily add feeds by using the browser bookmarklet.

At this time there is no stats option available for publishers, this is something that is expected to be added in the future.

I encourage you to check out the site, whether you are a reader or a publisher, Feed My Inbox is worth a try if you are looking to have feeds sent to your email.

Cheers!

I have made the .M4R file available below.  Download it and confuse your friends :)

Cheers!

Download: pre.m4r

Sessions

The sessions were the main focus of the day.  With two tracks to choose from (technical & blogger), there was definitely plenty of knowledge being shared.  One of the sessions that I found to be most informative was the “Thesis Theme Developer Hacks” presented by Brad Williams.  I have been using Thesis on a number of sites, but the hooks have been somewhat confusing to understand.  Thanks to Brad, I now have a much better understanding of how the theme works and look to developing more with Thesis.

The great part about WordCamp is that PodCamp rules applied.  I was able to leave the sessions if I was not interested and breakout with other attendees to discuss our own WordPress issues and offer advice.  Having the ability to create your own session and brainstorm with other users was awesome.

Networking

A big part of the weekend was being able to network with other developers and users.  I have connected with so many people online, that is was great to be able to meet people in person and interact with them in real life.  Yes, video calls on Skype are nice, but nothing beats that real life connection.

I also had the chance to meet Drew Griffin, who I have been working with since last September.  Drew is an awesome guy and it was great to finally meet him (even if he did show up at 3am the day of WordCamp).

Lessons Learned

I learned a lot over the weekend, a lot of knowledge from experts was presented and it was a great experience.  Besides the conference, one of the biggest lessons I learned is not to fly somewhere that is only a 4 hour drive!  My experience with US Airways was horrible over the weekend (Drew’s was worse), and I don’t wish the hell I went through on anyone.  Next time I am taking the bus!

Overall WordCamp Mid-Atlantic was an amazing experience.  Thanks again to Aaron and Jimmy for putting on the conference and I look forward to next year’s event.

Cheers!

I think AT&T needs to make an iPhone app for checking account information and making payments. It makes sense, right?

Last night I was perusing the free apps area of the store and found that AT&T had finally released an iPhone app for account management.  The myWireless Mobile app is free and it is dead simple to use.

The app connects to your existing AT&T Wireless online account, and provides you with basic information on account usage and bill information.  You can also add and remove existing features right from the app.

I think it is about time that AT&T released an app, they have had the iPhone on their network since 2007.

You can download the app for free from the App Store.

What do you think of the new app from AT&T, leave your comments below.  Cheers!

Drew recently asked me to install Disqus on his blog and after experiencing the simple process, I decided to install the commenting system here.

So, if you have left a comment in the past, be sure to claim it :)

Cheers!

Ever since I got an iPhone I have found it easier to stay connected.  One of the best apps for keeping me connected to Twitter is Tweetie.

At first I was hesitant to pay for an app that I knew nothing about.  This atebits company didn’t have a desktop app, so I was unsure as what to expect from them.  After jumping around in the forums and asking some questions of my own, I knew that I had to get this program.  My friends were surprised that I paid for an app, because I am cheapskate :)

I have to say that Tweetie has paid off for me.  The best feature of the program is that I can run multiple accounts in the app.  That has been helpful, since there are four Twitter accounts that I manage.

Last month I told Albert (@iAlbert) about the program, because he was managing his Twitter accounts with different programs on his iPhone.  I told him that the app was $2.99 and management of multiple accounts was simple.  He has been using the app and loves it, sure beats all of those others apps he had installed!

There are other great aspects of Tweetie too.  The multiple display options for viewing the timeline (my preference is dark), the abililty to save drafts for posting later, and the ever-funny poopularity enhancer.  If you are a fan of the fart apps, you will like the popularity enhancer.

With the launch of Tweetie for Mac and all of the rave reviews about it, it seems that atebits has made using Twitter that much more simple and fun with these great apps.

Cheers!