iPhone 4s Day 2: Siri, "Siri," and some WWF

I really didn't do a lot of new stuff today. The first reason was the 4 hours of sleep I got before the boys woke up. I also woke up with a headache and some "stomach" issues, even though I only had one beer and no food out of the ordinary. I was supposed to have a couple computer repair jobs, but I couldn't get a hold of the one that was supposed to be the early morning appointment, so I just had one in the afternoon. My darling wife allotted me an hour and a half nap before the computer appointment (even though I asked for only an hour and ended up being late), but I apparently needed it. So one protein bar, one 5 Hour Energy, and a 20 minute drive later, I'm at the afternoon computer repair job.

While I'm waiting for the computer to do its thing (BIOS update, M$ Office install, Java, couple other little things), I download my first paid app, Words With Friends. If you've been playing WWF with me, I've been playing via the Facebook app, which wouldn't be bad if the ads weren't so intrusive. I wasn't sure if the free version's ads were that bad, but just in case, I paid the dollar to ensure I wouldn't have to suffer on my phone as well. So I did that while also using the ESPN FFL11 app to check on my fantasy team. I used to check via the mobile browser version, but this app is much nicer. I am currently 10 points ahead, and my opponent has Santonio Holmes left tomorrow, which has me a little worried, but maybe Miami can rattle Sanchez, who after watching him against the Ravens a couple weeks ago, I have deemed to be a wuss. Hit him once and he's throwing while trying to duck the rest of the game. Doesn't make for accurate passing.

I finish up the computer job and I'm walking to my truck when I decide to try "Siri" again. Before you ask me any ridiculous questions, I am doing this from memory, so "Siri" probably didn't say exactly these things...but they're close. I have my Jawbone in, and get "Siri" started by pressing the Home button. It beeps, and I say "send a text." It comes back moments later and says "what is the message?" I say "On the way home. Do you need anything?" It comes back and shows me what I've said (minus the period) and responds "is this correct?" I say "yes" and "Siri" then goes "who do you want to send it to?" I tell it my wife's name, which it responds by showing me her cell number and asking if that is correct, to which I say yes, and a few seconds later, I hear the bubble sound that signifies I've sent a text. I will neither confirm or deny that I got a little "excited" with the results of my first successful "Siri" encounter. I also believe that the NoiseAssassin on my Jawbone is not working as it should, so I'm going to check and see if it's still under warranty.

So later that evening, we are go to Siri's birthday dinner with the boys and my in-laws. It is at Cafe Istanbul, which is in Decatur and serves, if you haven't already guessed, Turkish cuisine. It's an interesting place, where you sit on the floor to eat, it's very dark and hookahs are in use. The iPhone come in play a couple times in this part of the story. The first was to get directions to the place. I knew the general vicinity of where it was, but not exactly where, so I employ "Siri" again. I tell her "get me directions to Cafe Istanbul" and she replies with "ok, I will get you directions to Avondale Pizza Cafe." Avondale Pizza Cafe is in my contacts, and "Siri" interpreted Cafe Istanbul as "cafe it's where." Slight fail, no problem, let's try again. The second time I tell "Siri" to "search for Cafe Istanbul" hoping for a Google search. I try to say Istanbul a little faster and while "Siri" got the Google search part of the query right, this time she thought it was "Cafe Original." It's starting to feel like a facepalm moment, but I try one more time, and lo and behold, she gets it this time, and up pops Google Maps and leads me right to the place. There is hope for "Siri" yet. The second time was in the dark ass restaurant, where they expect you to be able to read a menu. One of the free apps I had downloaded yesterday was a flashlight app (an LED one) and that worked beautifully. I may pay for another  one where it is just an on/off switch and no ads. The free one I have has ads and a bar that you can adjust to make it a variable speed strobe light, which for the life of me I can't figure out why you would do that unless you wanted to trigger an epileptic seizure in some poor soul. The side note to this story is that my youngest son has good taste in belly dancers. I'm sure it was her hand cymbal thingys and beads on her hips, but he was mesmerized and provided a good laugh for everyone at the table.

I think that was it for the day. I don't think I did many iPhone to Pre comparisons today, so I'll close out with a few:

• The default Messaging app on the Pre beats the iPhone one like a red-headed stepchild. If anyone knows of an app that will combine SMS, MMS and IMs from one contact in one threaded view, let me know. The Pre did that on its own.
• I have engaged in a few group messages on the iPhone and am now glad that when I respond, I'm responding to everyone instead of just the sender when I was on my Pre.
• The active task switching/multitasking/whatever you want to call it is comparable on both. I feel the Pre method is a little more elegant and quicker, but it can be done on an iPhone, although I fear for the Home button with the amount of double tapping I'm going to be doing.
• I miss being able to play a YouTube video (or any video for that matter) and have it play in the background while I'm doing something else. Reason being is that if I'm listening to a song with a static picture or I just need to hear the video rather than see it, I can do something else. Doesn't appear to be possible on the iPhone.

Aight, it's almost 12:30 AM. Let's see if I can get Isandro to school on time two times in a row...