18 posts tagged “mobile”

Here's why, no matter what happens in two weeks, the iPhone has already
changed the game:

Apple's competitors, by contrast, find the prospect of the iPhone
terrifying. "The entire fucking Western world hopes that it¹s a case of
imperial overstretch," says the CEO of one of the planet¹s largest
communications companies. "But everybody is quietly saying, er, what if
people want to buy a $500 phone? What if, er, people have been waiting for a
device that does all these things? What if this thing works as advertised? I
mean, my God, what then?"

[from New York Magazine]

Riding the D train this morning on my way into work, the car I'm on (#2711) is completely dark inside -- no emergency lights, no door indicators, nothing.

As we ride through the tunnels, the side lights scan over the passengers' faces like miniature lighthouse beacons, with intermittent red or blue highbeams from safety lamps and full squares of yellowish, dimmer light from the R train alongside.

Nobody talks on the dark car, or moves much except to work on a Blackberry or play a iPod. The little screens look like blue glowing patches of denim.

Between Pacific St. and the Manhattan Bridge the tunnel lights are fewer and the car grows darker yet. Each passing fluorescent tube casts individual starburst shadows on the ceiling of the train. Now the light from the adjacent cars is much more evident -- a window at each end of the dark car, people still in the real world.

The train angles down slightly, then climbs as we emerge onto the bridge. The sky's blue-white light flows from the front end of the car to the back like an ocean wave. Sleepers shift and rub their dark-adapted eyes.

Beautiful.

2 year old wants water in her beach toy and wants Mommy to get it for her. "Ask not what your mommy can do for you," I announce.

6 year old picks up the theme. "Ask not what other people can do for you," she says, then continuing under her breath, "Instead, ask yourself, why am I asking other people to do things?"

Northwest flight to Detroit, a pilot for JetBlue -- crew jacket, uniform short-sleeve shirt and tie -- boards and somewhat sheepishly takes his seat.

Speaking of sheepish, my alarm didn't go off today at 4 am, so here I am on the 7:30 instead of the 6 am flight. Baa.

Really. Who does that? One of our plates gone the other hanging by one bolt (and that's added aggravation, since if they aren't both gone, NYPD form says "lost" instead of stolen, and DMV charges for new tags). Now H has to slog through the rain with kid2 to get new tags.

We even paid extra last time we renewed our registration so we could keep our tag number. It was easy to remember. Now we get a new number anyway.

Damn it. Who steals license plates? Why?

Can't say I think too much of his parenting style.

Local bagel shop has 2 large, flat-panel TVs currently showing Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs." Making flowerpots from cow manure does not equal higher bagel sales.

A car with PA plates, full of Streit's matzoh boxes. Wish I had a camera.

Just saw an N train go by as I'm waiting for the local. It was a new-model, shiny train with digital displays.

Oh, I say to myself, it's a draft-N.

Gotta take a reality break.

Ric Ocasek from the Cars, crossing 14th St.