Jim McNelis's Blog

AT&T DENIES a Dying Man’s Wish for a iPhone 3G

Jim McNelis — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:22:41 +0000

My father has stage 4 lung cancer. He called AT&T today to try and order an iPhone 3G. After spending 1/2 hour on the phone figuring out his new monthly costs with a very nice lady, he was told he could purchase the phone online through “premiere service”. After being connected to the premiere service representitive, we were told he could not purchase the phone online and that he would have to go to a physical location. Again, my Dad has stage 4 lung cancer. He leaves the house for radiation and doctor visits. So he told the AT&T Premiere Service rep that this was his dying wish to have this phone. The rep’s response? ”Sir, I am sorry for the inconvenience, you will need to goto an AT&T or Apple Retail location to purchase the phone.” My dad tried to explain that he was not physically able to goto the store, let alone stand in line. We got the same response. We escalated the issue and got a supervisor on the phone. It became clear to us that they would not oblige a dying man’s request for the iPhone 3G, so here we sit.It is sad that these measures put in place to prevent the iPhone from being unlocked has also prevented my father from experiencing the joy of an iPhone before he doesn’t have that chance. I guess AT&T doesn’t actually give a shit if my dad is dying or not, they aren’t coming off a iPhone over the internet or over the phone. We were even willing to wait several weeks for the convenience of having the phone delivered. We were told there was no way possible to do this, and that my father would have to goto the store in order to get the iPhone 3G.It was suggested that we get my father to notarize a document authorizing us to make changes on his account, so that we could goto the location on his behalf, but somehow I doubt that would work. We are willing to go through that effort if need be, but it is just appalling that AT&T is not willing to honor a dying man’s wish for the iPhone. They should accommodate his needs. As my brother kindly pointed out to the supervisor, we consider this a form of discrimination, since my father is physically unable to goto the location and stand in line for the phone.So that’s that. If anyone knows a way we can get my Dad a phone, please let me know.

10 Reasons not to Upgrade to iPhone 3G

Jim McNelis — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:45:24 +0000

This list assumes you have a first generation iPhone. If you don’t own an iPhone, run, don’t walk, to your nearest Apple or AT&T Store.

With that said, here is the list:

Free OS upgrade on old iPhone.
OS upgrade 1 day earlier than iPhone 3G release.
No standing in line today.
Save $199 - You have the iPhone already
The same Apps run on your old iPhone.
GPS in iPhone 3G is weak. No turn-by-turn directions.
Geo-aware Apps work on your old iPhone.
New data plan is $10/month more, and…
No text messaging included in the new data plans for iPhone 3G.
No worrying about “getting stuck with the white one” because you slept in this morning.

Anyone have any additional reasons why you should not upgrade to the new iPhone?

WWDC 2008 - My Predictions

Jim McNelis — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:19:57 +0000

So with Steve Jobs taking the stage in a few hours to present at this year’s WWDC, I figured I would throw my $.02 in the ring to make some predictions of my own.

New iPhone - Available within a week. GPS, Video Calling, Better Camera, Smaller, Better Battery Life, Native Horizontal Keyboard. Bluetooth Sync. Those are the major enhancements I expect
UMPC - A four by seven inch “iPhone” looking device. More than a phone, less than a laptop. - Credit to Dan McNelis for this prediction.

I am sure there is more, but this is my prediction & me brother’s prediction. (see that, I just talked like a leprechaun)

Follow me on Facebook

Jim McNelis — Tue, 27 May 2008 17:59:29 +0000

Twitter is kinda cool, you can follow me here: http://twitter.com/ditojim

But Facebook is even cooler, and you can follow me here: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=543108005

Facebook has my Twitter stream built in, so you don’t miss anything by not messing with twitter. This of course assumes you want to follow me in the first place. If you do choose to keep up with me on Facebook, you will see much more than my twitter stream.

You will see what music I am listening to from Last.fm. My Brightkite updates and photos come via twitter, which comes to Facebook via FriendFeed. Then there is all the stuff inside the walled garden, like my photos I upload to Facebook and my status updates on Facebook. I also have a profile for my company website on Facebook, as well as a listing in the Facebook Marketplace for my services.

All a bit confusing?

I am constantly suggesting new sites and services to my friends and family. I rarely get one of them to sign up, and my suggestions are coming less and less. I really wish they would all just sign up for Facebook. They could then see what else I am up to and try it out for themselves if they like.

As the social web gets more and more complex by the shear number or available services, I will tend to gravitate towards services that look to bring everything together and/or simplify things. Google does this with email and office productivity, maybe Facebook is my answer for the social networking nightmare.

Some of my favorite things

Jim McNelis — Fri, 02 May 2008 01:46:13 +0000

Image details: Bargain Hunters Hit The Streets As Sales Begin served by picapp.com

Well I like expensive stuff in general. It’s not that I like spending a lot of money on things, I just happen to appreciate the quality of things more than most. Even so, most stuff I buy, finds a way to fuck up or not work as intended. My illusions of product perfection that I had as a kid, have all but disappeared in the 21st century. I have a nice computer, mouse, a MackBook Pro, 2 widescreen monitors, another laptop, and an iPhone. All pretty expensive things. All favorites.

Not all of my favorite things are expensive, I recently acquired a 1989 Dodge Power 50 4×4 for $2,000 off craigslist.com. It’s a real piece but it’s got a lot of character and I have fun driving it around town. It also came with an air horn, which provides endless enjoyment. It’s really loud.

I like Naked Juice, Odwalla, and similar concoctions. That’s what I try and eat/drink for breakfast every morning. I can feel the healthy going down as I drink it. I also like to mix in pomegranate juice from time to time for that extra goodness.

The internet has to be one of my favorite things. I can’t really say enough about that so I will instead say nothing else. Except, it’s awesome.

I like eating at 2 places in my hometown: El Taco and Tony’s Pizza. I’ve been eating El Taco for over 25 out of 30 years of my life. They are cheap ass Mexican dive that blows Taco Bell out of the water. Ya, I know that’s not saying much…Tony’s Pizza is just great authentic New York style Italian food. Nothing in the area comes close. They don’t deliver and that’s not a problem. I’d never go pick up Domino’s or Pizza Hut as a point of reference.

I have a friend who has a bird. Paulie is the bird’s name, and he is a Goffin Cockatoo. Paulie is a cool bird. He actually bites the shit out of people on a daily basis, but I have been working with him for months and now him and I are at a point where we trust each other about 90%. That’s as far as we will ever really take it since his beak is often inches from my eye. Seriously though we are not a threat to each other and I see him daily…him and I are boys and its just really cool to have a semi-intelligent bird as a friend. He doesn’t say any words but he talks with his other sounds and body language and we seem to understand each other. I look forward to hanging out with my buddy and his bird most days. It’s a good break from the ever present internet.

I like the earth and nature. I’m not in it enough and its what I work towards everyday. My mission will be complete when I am off the grid in my log cabin surfing the internets and doing business from that location and anywhere else in the world I choose to be.

When that happens, I will have a lot more of favorite things.