LenEdgerly.com

I wasn't expecting the iPhone to take decent photos, so I was surpised at this gem, taken of my sister Stephanie on a porch in nice light.

I've been doodling with the phone all day, delighted at the magical interface. My most sure-fire way to show what it's about is to get a photo on the screen of the iPhone and then spread two fingers apart, which makes the image zoom in closer. Then pinching the fingers returns the view to normal size. When Steve Jobs did that at MacWorld in January, that's when I knew I would be standing in line somewhere five months later. Steph was hooked and told me tonight that if Darlene doesn't want the phone I bought for her, Steph will gladly buy it. Poor thing. She's seen the future, and there's no turning back.

Saturday, June 30, 2007

This is my favorite image from all the coverage I've seen so far on yesterday's launch of the iPhone. It's on the front page of the San Jose Mercury News. Top tech blogger Robert Scoble hoists his new iPhone as he emerges from the Apple store in Palo Alto.

The video I made of my surreal stroll through the Cambridge Apple store yesterday at 6 p.m. has already been viewed 2.500 times on YouTube and has generated some passionate comments, not all favorable to the new phone. "A gross display of mindless consumerism," wrote a guy whose YouTube username is reflexing. "Well done." But most comments shared in the excitement of the scene, such as this one from blakeproductions : "MOTHER FUCKER!! AAAA fUCKING COOL!!! Lucky!!!!!!!!!" I also received a lengthy e-mail from a guy named Dave, who did a tongue-in-cheek calculation of the economic value of the time I and others wasted standing in line, which he put at over $4 million, adding, "Damn that is a lota chedda." All in all, it's great feedback, and way more than I ever got publishing poems in literary magazines.

Labels: iPhone Scoble YouTube Apple

Labels: Cambridge Chronicle Anne Noyes interview Apple iPhone

Friday, June 29, 2007

Kern Bruce and I hang out at the CambridgeSide Galleria. He's a grad student at BU and a mellow line-mate. We share bits of iPhone news we find on the internet and take turns being interviewed by media. Our last one was with The Cambridge Chronicle, whose reporter shot video of us with her point-and-shoot camera.
Photo by Lisa Poole of The Associated Press.

Mike Perlman of WirelessInfo.com lies down on the job, waiting at the CambridgeSide Galleria for the Apple store to begin selling iPhones. He arrived on the line carrying a motorcyle helmet, and I think his task was going to be whisking a debut unit to the WirelessInfo.com lab for torture tests and hi-tech evaluation.

Labels: Apple iPhone CambridgeSide Galleria

I woke up at 2 a.m. and knew I wouldn't be getting back to sleep, so I drove over to the Galleria Mall in Cambridge, home of the Apple Store. Lo and behold, no one else was there, so I became the First One in Line. iPhoner Number 2, Alfredo Padilla, managing editor of Wirelessinfo.com, arrived 20 minutes later. He is part of a tag team from his company, and they will be putting the iPhone through a battery of tests as soon as they get their hands on one. (Alfredo also took the above photo, showing me in my chaise from Target, the most brilliant part of my arsenal.)

Latoyia Edwards of New England Cable News has been doing live feeds from the front of the line. Here's one of them. Sleep deficit is kicking in, and I've got too many windows open on my screen. I have to say the time is flying by, though. I have no sense of boredom. I am surrounded by uber-geeks, my tribe. Latoyia in her interview asked me how much I would take in cash to give up my spot at the front of the iPhone line. I honestly could not think of a number high enough.

I hopped on the Amtrak train at Old Orchard Beach this morning and am making my way to North Station, Boston. This is the only way to travel, IMHO. They even have Starbucks coffee on board, and 120-volt outlets for the MacBook Pro. I only wish the ride took twice as long as the two-plus hours scheduled.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

On this long stay in Cambridge, I've been sitting regularly in this room on the third floor of the condo, up in the trees. This morning's fall-like air and bright sunlight in the leaves made zazen even sweeter than usual.

Saturday, June 23, 2007

I'm enjoying my 35th reunion with the Harvard College Class of 1972. Yesterday we heard Bill Gates address the Harvard Alumni Association. The photo is of Widener Library in Harvard Yard after the Gates speech, which I found remarkably human and inspiring. I haven't been able to find audio of it on the Internet, but here is a transcript. And here is an example of how directly Gates challenged the assembly:

Members of the Harvard Family: Here in the Yard is one of the great collections of intellectual talent in the world.

What for?

There is no question that the faculty, the alumni, the students, and the benefactors of Harvard have used their power to improve the lives of people here and around the world. But can we do more? Can Harvard dedicate its intellect to improving the lives of people who will never even hear its name?

Let me make a request of the deans and the professors - the intellectual leaders here at Harvard: As you hire new faculty, award tenure, review curriculum, and determine degree requirements, please ask yourselves:

Should our best minds be dedicated to solving our biggest problems?

Should Harvard encourage its faculty to take on the world's worst inequities? Should Harvard students learn about the depth of global poverty ... the prevalence of world hunger ... the scarcity of clean water ...the girls kept out of school ... the children who die from diseases we can cure?

Should the world's most privileged people learn about the lives of the world's least privileged?

Today we attended seminars and had lunch and dinner. At the memorial service, the Rev. Peter Gomes introduced the reading of the names of departed classmates by gently reminding us that this process will continue until the last classmate's name is read--a sombre but oddly comforting thought, I found.

Friday, June 08, 2007