I’ve never known anyone personally that this has happened to, until now. But, I’ve been cryptographically signing my email since 2004. Every single one. I have almost 10,000 emails in my Sent folder, all of which are signed. Further, I think I’ve been very clear to my friends and family, that it is their responsibility to verify the signature. Should they receive an email claiming to come from me, they should doubt the authenticity of the mail if it is not signed.

Of course, this does not prove anything about future email. I may wish to stop signing my mail at anytime. But, all I need to do is cast reasonable doubt that I sent the mail. A back history of over 7 years and 10,000 cryptographically signed emails should cast enough reasonable doubt as to the message is question, should I be placed in that situation. Along with anyone being able to forge email headers, it’s all over. Unless you can clearly, logically, and rationally prove that I sent the mail, there is enough doubt surrounding it, that I remain innocent.

I know others don’t see email the same way I do, and treat their email experience differently, such as John. And in all reality, if setting up OpenPGP or S/MIME wasn’t such a major PITA, it might be more widely used. But for the time being, all I can do is continue to lead by example. For me, the 15 minutes it took for initial setup, and having to provide a passphrase every time I wish to send an email, is peanuts compared to threats, such as this. Of course, if the organization John worked for required S/MIME on their email (I’ve worked for one such organization that made this requirement), then it would be clear that the mail was a fake.

UPDATE: Turns out that this organization has a utility to send messages to anyone in the organization. It’s not email, but some custom, proprietary application. Further, it requires no authentication. Anyone can send messages to anyone pretending to be whoever they wish.

• I am, by definition, “the intended recipient”.
• All information in the email is mine to do with as I see fit and make such financial profit, political mileage, or good joke as it lends itself to. In particular, I may quote it where I please.
• I may take the contents as representing the views of your company.
• This disclaimer overrides any disclaimer or statement of confidentiality that may be included on your message.

Dear Jim Matheson, Rob Bishop, Jason Chaffetz, Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee:

If you vote in favor of supporting SOPA and PIPA passing, not only will you not get a vote from me, I’ll launch an online campaign to make sure I take as many people with me this November in doing the same (I’ll tell you right now Mr. Hatch, that Pete Ashdown already has my vote, but its not too late to withold the campaign). The ball is in your court.

• I get A LOT of missed calls when people call my Google Voice number.
• I get A LOT of static on the line versus calling my cell directly (I honestly don’t understand why).
• Managing the “other” numbers for contacts is messy.
• Conference calls only support 4 people- you, and 3 other callers.
• Conference calls can only be initiated when people call your Voice number (you cannot invite people to the call).
• When using SMS on Android, the notifications are filled with the name presented twice- once for the Google Contact contact, and then again for the Voice Caller ID.
• Unless you’re using Android (or maybe other OSes), calling from your phone will not show the Google Voice number on their caller ID, unless you call your Voice number first, then follow the phone tree to dial the number you wish to call (a PITA).
• Some cell phone providers offer unlimited minutes when calling other cellular phones. Using Voice means calling a landline, which means using your minutes, regardless of who made the call.

I like the spam options of the service. It has come in handy. And I’ve recorded a few phone calls for logging reasons. However, I’ve found that using Google Voice in totality is becoming more of a pain than a benefit. Losing calls is especially annoying, definitely when you’re waiting for a job offer (ugh). I’ll continue to hand out the number to companies and people that I don’t care much about, but I’ve been handing my cell phone number out more and more lately, because Voice is just getting in the way.

Anyway, just had to get this off my chest (missing a call this morning was REALLY upsetting, and sparked the post).

December 29th is the day, if I don’t feel the itch to do it before then.

Thanks, and sorry for any inconvenience.

Further more, I’ve added shortlinks to every post. Rather than the lengthy pretty URLs of http://pthree.org/2001/07/22/fully-mobile, you should be able to also visit http://pthree.org/?p=1956, and reach the same place. You can find the shortlinks on the left side of each post from the main page, or at the bottom of the post, when at a specific post. This makes it nicer to type in your mobile device, or share with users via the various messaging options- SMS, IM, IRC, Twitter, Open Microblogging, etc. You can click on the title for the permalink.

If that’s not enough, I’ve taken the shortlink of each post, and created a QR Code from it, in case you are at the computer with your phone, and wish to read the post at a later date. It’s located at the upper left of the blog site. It won’t appear on the mobile version of the site (that wouldn’t make much sense, now would it?). If at the main page, it is the URL of the blog. You’ll even find a QR Code at my contact page (which will actually show on your mobile browser- meh).

I’m ready for the mobile revolution.

A photo of me and my library of math books that I studied to walk with a Bachelor’s of Science in Applied Mathematics.

As of April 22, 2011, I have a Bachelors of Science degree in Mathematics, with an emphasis in applied math, and a minor in Computer Science, with an emphasis towards software development. While going through my college career in math, I wanted to take as many diverse electives as I could, while still maintaining the requirements for graduation in a timely manner. What resulted was not only study a great deal of applied mathematics, but also reaching the requirements for a an emphasis in general mathematics theory as well (even though the university won’t give me a second emphasis).

Here are the classes I studied, and the topics discussed in each class:

Precalculus:

1. Graphs
2. Functions and Their Graphs
3. Polynomial and Rational Functions
4. Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
5. Trigonometric Functions
6. Analytic Trigonometry
7. Applications of Trigonometric Functions
8. Polar Coordinates and Vectors
9. Analytic Geometry
10. Systems of Equations and Inequalities
11. Sequences, Mathematical Induction and the Binomial Theorem
12. Counting and Probability

Single Variable Calculus I:

1. Function and Models
2. Limits and Rates of Change
3. Derivatives
4. Applications of Differentiation
5. Integrals
6. Applications of Integration

Single Variable Calculus II:

1. Inverse Functions
2. Techniques of Integration
3. Further Applications of Integration
4. Differential Equations
5. Parametric Equations and Polar Coordinates
6. Infinite Sequences and Series

Multivariate Calculus:

1. Vectors and the Geometry of Space
2. Vector Functions
3. Partial Derivatives
4. Multiple Integrals
5. Vector Calculus
6. Second-Order Differential Equations

Discrete Mathematics:

1. Logic, Sets and Functions
2. Algorithms, Integers and Matrices
3. Mathematical Reasoning
4. Counting
5. Advanced Counting Techniques
6. Relations
7. Graphs
8. Trees
9. Boolean Algebra
10. Modeling Computation

Ordinary Differential Equations:

1. Classifications
2. First Order
3. Second Order
4. Higher Order
5. Series Solutions of Second Order
6. The Laplace Transform

Elementary Linear Algebra:

1. Vectors
2. Solving Linear Equations
3. Vector Spaces and Subspaces
4. Orthogonality
5. Determinants
6. Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors
7. Linear Transformations
8. Applications of Linear Algebra

Probability and Statistics I:

1. Historical Summary
2. Probability
3. Random Variables
4. Special Distributions
5. Estimation

Dynamical Systems:

1. Differential Equations
2. Planar Systems
3. Interacting Species
4. Limit Cycles
5. Hamiltonian Systems, Lyapunov Functions and Stability
6. Bifurcation Theory
7. Three-Dimensional Autonomous Systems and Chaos

Mathematical Modeling:

1. One Variable Optimization
2. Multivariable Optimization
3. Computational Methods for Optimization
4. Introduction to Dynamic Models
5. Analysis of Dynamic Models
6. Simulation of Dynamic Models
7. Probability Models
8. Stochastic Models

Elementary Topology:

1. Set Theory and Logic
2. Topological Spaces and Continuous Functions
3. Connectedness and Compactness
4. Countability and Separation Axioms

Numerical Analysis I:

1. Preliminaries
2. Solutions of Equations in One Variable
3. Interpolation and Polynomial Approximation
4. Numerical Differentiation and Integration
5. Initial-Value Problems for Ordinary Differential Equations
6. Direct Methods for Solving Linear Systems

Number Theory:

1. The Integers
2. Integer Representations and Operations
3. Primes and Greatest Common Divisors
4. Congruences
5. Applications of Congruences
6. Special Congruences
7. Multiplicative Functions
8. Cryptology
9. Primitive Roots

Elementary Real Analysis I:

1. Properties of the Real Numbers
2. Sequences
3. Sets of Real Numbers
4. Continuous Functions
5. Differentiation
6. Integration

Elementary Real Analysis II:

1. Infinite Sums
2. Dense Sets, Oscillation and Continuity on Sets
3. Sequences and Series of Functions
4. Power Series
5. Measure Theory
6. Lebesgue Integration

Even though I’ve graduated with a math degree, I think I would like to attend school further to pick up Modern Algebra I and II, Complex Analysis, Matrix Theory and maybe one or two more before attempting the math GRE and applying for graduate school. There are many more math classes in the undergraduate program to take, such as History of Mathematics, Boundary Value Problems, Partial Differential Equations, Probability and Statistics II, Numerical Analysis II, Enumeration, Euclidean and Non-Euclidean Geometry and Graph Theory.

I’ve found a website that aggregates free electronic books in various formats, such as PDF. Tons and tons of mathematics books are referenced to on the site, many of which I’ve downloaded and begun reading. The site is: http://e-booksdirectory.com/listing.php?category=3. I hope I never lose my passion for

The motivation is three-fold: I want raise awareness for encrypted email, I want to expand the Web of Trust and I want to sign keys. I believe we’ve gotten too anal retentive about the rituals of signing each others keys, and I would like to bring it more to the forefront of the general public. There is no reason why email shouldn’t be encrypted 100% of the time, and doing the Song and Dance of creating a conga line, reciting fingerprints, and verifying identifications has probably gone a little overboard.

Thus, on my policy page, you’ll notice that I’m willing to sign your key if you just send me $1 USD along with your email address and key. I’ll return the $1 after I’ve signed it. Or, you can send me a colored scan of your U.S. passport or driver license, and I’ll sign your key. Crazy? Maybe. I’m fairly confident, however, that the government, or powerful enemies, isn’t planning a coordinated attack against my identity.

OpenPGP on Android
When signing mail using PGP/MIME, some stock mail apps shipped with various phones don’t display the text of the email at all. However, signing the mail inline shows the text just fine. This has been reported by a user of a Motorola Droid X, which means that other users are likely having the same issue. The mail comes through as empty with an icon showing attachments. The user must manually download the plain text portion of the mail then open it in an external editor for reading the message. However, even though inline signatures are chatty, they work fine.

I for one can’t stand inline signatures. They’re ugly as snot, and only end up bothering the recipient to read around your chatty PGP metadata to get to what you actually wrote. It’s highly distracting. With PGP/MIME, the signature is sent as an attachment (cough Mutt cough), so the recipient is not bothered by the chatty signature and metadata. Should they wish to verify the integrity of your message, they can download the attachment, and verify it against your public key. If not, they don’t need to be concerned with the attachment.

Given the recent problems with the default mail application on Motorola Droid X phones, PGP/MIME is broken. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this either. Yet, inline always works. I won’t send an email without cryptographically signing it, and I highly prefer PGP/MIME attachments. So, should I switch to inline to accommodate users on Droid X phones, and those with other mailers where PGP/MIME is broken? Debating it.

RFC 3676
RFC 3676 states how mailers should handle format=flowed and format=fixed mail. I’ve always preferred format=fixed, and I’ve preferred wrapping my mail at 72 characters to allow for a few nested replies before reaching 80 characters in length. Studies have shown that reading lines of text within the 60-100 character width improves accuracy, speed and is less fatiguing than longer, or shorter lines.

However, on mobile devices, the width of the mailer might only be able to accommodate 50-60 characters in width while holding the phone in portrait mode. Thus, the email ends chopped up, and looks quite bad. Rotating my personal phone to landscape fixes this issue, which seems to accommodate around 90 characters. However, there are phones that don’t allow for rotating the display from portrait to landscape, and some landscape modes still might not fit the full 80 characters. Thus, the mail remains chopped. Here’s an example of what I’m talking about- I’m sure you’ve seen this before:

Just as an FYI to the list —

On Android’s mail application, PGP/MIME attachments are
nigh-unusable.
It won’t render even the plaintext portions: it has to be
downloaded and
opened with a text reader. If you’re concerned about your
mail being
readable on a mobile device (which is increasingly important
nowadays),
you might want to consider switching to inline signatures.

A fix to this is to change my behavior to format=flowed. When the recipient then reads my mail on the mobile device, the text flows line after line, without choppy line breaks. Of course, the problem with this approach is using mailers on the desktop, where a couple hundred characters could easily fit in the width, thus making the mail more tiring and difficult to read. The desktop user at that point could resize his window to change the width of the mail to give a more pleasurable reading experience.

Either way, format=fixed or format=flowed, one recipient or the other will have to change the width of their mailer to give a better reading experience. It’s likely that resizing the desktop mail window is supported by more users than changing the phone to landscape mode. As a result, I’m guessing that I should change the way I compose email to format=flowed.

Conclusion
Given these two outcomes of mobile MUAs, it would appear that cryptographically signing inline and using format=flowed would support the largest audience of recipients, and because smartphones are growing in terms of market share over feature phones, it would make sense to make these changes. However, give the total sample of recipients, what is the percentage of users that are on mobile devices where this is a problem? Am I becoming overly concerned about a minute minority of users?

I’m open to ideas. What should I do? Should I sign inline and use format=flowed for all my mail? I don’t like the chatty nature of inline signatures, as already mentioned, but I don’t mind changing to format=flowed, although I hate seeing it myself when using Mutt or some other MUA, and the line is forever long.

I joined Last.fm because it was superior to Pandora Radio to me. I didn’t care much for Pandora, because my stations would radically change based on what I gave as “thumbs up” and “thumbs down”. For example, I would set a “Barenaked Ladies” station, and rate songs based on what I liked and disliked, and before I knew it, I was listening to Beethoven. If I continued giving thumbs up and thumbs down, I would hear Led Zepplin in the mix. Continue inductively, and Garth Brooks would be heard, then Bing Crosby, then Manheim Steamroller, and on and on. I learned to just leave the thumbs up/down rating alone, and let the radio go. At least then it would play similar artists to what I wanted.

I also didn’t care that Pandora was driven entirely from the website using Flash. I was a big external music player user at the time (still am), and had an extensive library of MP3s that I had built up over the years (which I no longer have, actually), and I didn’t want to control two music software applications. So, I did a bit of research and found Audioscrobbler and Last.fm. There was a scrobbling plugin available for my player at the time, so I loaded it up and all was well. I even really liked all the metadata about the songs that was added to my library. I could build my own custom playlists, see which songs I “loved” and create my own tags. Their official stand alone app is even Free Software, licensed under the GPL! Win.

I later learned about subscribing, and found that if I subscribed, I could play my loved tracks, playlists and tags- something I had been spending a great deal of time working on. There was great value to these features for me. So, I signed up in 2009, and enjoyed every minute. Then, Last.fm announced that they would stop offering a free stream to users outside of the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, due to licensing fees from the recording industry. This didn’t affect me, as I both live in the States, and I was paying $3 per month as a subscriber. But, when they announced in late 2010 that the ability to no longer play loved tracks, custom tags, or playlists, even for subscribers, I stopped paying. The only reasons I was paying was because of those features, and they were gone. I wiped my playlists (no good to me now), and stopped tagging songs.

Right at the end of the year, I got an HTC Evo 4G Android phone, and immediately installed the LastFm app, set the widget to one of my desktop home screens, and streamed practically nonstop. I streamed the radio while walking to campus, while studying, while working, while commuting to and from work (on public transit, not driving). It was by far the most used application on my phone. Even though I couldn’t play my loved tracks, playlists and custom tags, I wasn’t paying anymore, so I was still happy.

Then, today’s news hit: I can’t stream Last.fm to my mobile phone without being a subscriber.

I’m frustrated. Really frustrated.

So, I begin looking for another service to take advantage of. First off, however, let me make it clear that I don’t feel that it is my right to have music online for free. No one owes it to me to provide me with free music. While I don’t agree with many of the copyright laws in place, especially those dealing with digital media, I understand why many of them exist. Further, I may not understand all of the business models of the recording industry, but I’m still willing to pay for a service that provides real, meaningful value. I would be willing to put up with advertisements, both banner ads in the application or on the website, and 30-60s commercials in the stream for non-subscribers, like myself.

During my research, I’ve found a great deal of other online music streaming services. Some offer free models, most offer some sort of subscription service for various features. It seems that almost all of the online radios that do have a mobile application, require some sort of paid subscription to stream music through the app. Here’s what I’ve found (sorted by price per month):

• Free (ads and with limitations), $3 USD (no limitations)- Pandora (U.S. only)
• Free (ads and with limitations), $5 USD (no limitations)- Slacker (U.S. and Canada only)
• $3 USD- LastFm (U.S., U.K. and Germany only)
• $5 USD- Rdio (U.S. and Canada only
• $9 USD- Grooveshark (International?)
• $10 USD- MOG (U.S. only)
• £10- Spotify (E.U. only)

I’m sure there are others that provide large catalogs of popular music, and have various subscription models for other countries around the world. My apologies if I haven’t included it in the list. It’s by no means exhaustive. But, the point made is clear: $3 USD per month for streaming radio to a mobile application isn’t bad. Sure, Pandora is free, but you can only stream 40 hours of music per month for non-subscribers, something I would chew through in 4 days. Slacker is also free, and provides a larger set for non-subscribers than Pandora, but it is ad-supported, gives the user a limited number of skips per hour, and limited number of plays, and other limitations. Otherwise, LastFm is looking good at only $3 per month.

But, I’m skeptical. The LastFm Android application is anything but stellar. Its user interface is awful, making it very difficult to navigate through artists profiles, tags, etc. Further, even when connected to a wifi connection, with full bars, the application will skip songs before finishing, something that would really irritate me if I was a paying subscriber. They did say that users can have a 3 month free trial, so that may be the route to take to see of the reliability and UI issues are addressed before sending CBS your hard-earned cash.

What will I do? I don’t know. If they could bring more features back to the subscribers, besides just the ability to stream from your mobile device, I would easily resubscribe. I love all the stats, charts, and other metadata that they’ve built into your account. I like going through what I’ve loved or listened to, and watch my listening habits change with time. I’ve discovered a lot of great artists, and even purchased 10-12 albums because of these discoveries. I even dig the social aspect of the site.

Given this recent news, I don’t know what I’m going to do. Really, if I can just scrobble other radio stations, something that LastFm does not allow through their API, then it really wouldn’t be that big of a deal. I could deal with the limitations that Slacker comes with, and I have no problems with the ads, if done tastefully and in moderation. But, it seems I’m being forced behind a paywall, and I’m not excited about it. It’s not that big of a deal to have stats, I guess, but I’m a Mathematician, and they have value to me. I would miss using another service, and not having the ability to report my stats.

Over and over and over again, there have been major concerns with changes that Facebook has made towards handling your privacy. New changes are always implemented, and they always seem to be compromising your privacy, one way or another. I find it interesting that the Google Mail team implements Buzz, and adds friends to your list to follow based on who you mailed the most, and a lawsuit ensues, but Facebook sells your contact information to advertisers, and no one blinks an eye.

However, the biggest news to hit the Internet is Goldman Sachs’ interest in investing in Facebook, and getting options into the company for top investors, despite Facebook being a privately held company. In fact, Goldman Sachs has a $1.5 billion USD interest in Facebook. What could be so valuable to Goldman Sachs, that they’re willing to front ONE POINT FIVE BILLION? I can tell you this much- it’s not FarmVille. Yes, you guessed right. They want to be the top bidder to your private data. If you think that’s not the truth, you’re fooling yourself.

To me, things are about to get very, very scary with the Internet giant (as if they haven’t been already), and I’m tired of putting up with it (I’ll now wait for the onslaught of persecution from a number of friends, as well as the “told you so”). Of course, I’ve heard the rebuttal, and I’m a firm believer of it, that if you don’t want your private data compromised, then don’t post it to begin with. Wise words. However, if you don’t put your private data on Facebook, including photos of yourself or family, then tell me again what the point of the site is. Last I checked, it was to get in contact, and remain in contact, with close and distant family, friends, relatives, associates, etc. You want to remain in contact, so you give them your private information, such as your email, phone number, address, etc. to make this possible. You share bits and pieces of your life with them, including photos, videos and messages. If you don’t provide that data to your contacts, then what’s the point? Getting new cows for virtual ranch?

Aside from the massive security concerns with privacy, Facebook has become rather lame to me. To be frankly honest, I’m just not that interested in your kids fundraiser, your new photo business that you setup and want me to “like”, how I should ignore common sense and just “follow the prophet”, your political stances, etc. I’ve been in far too many religious, political and philosophical debates on Facebook, and where did they get us? I get bombarded with game requests all the freaking time, and clearing them out is like cleaning spam out of your email inbox. Of all the old friends that I’ve gotten in touch with on the site, what has happened over the years? Nothing. So, what was the point?

I know that 600 million users feel differently than I do, and that’s fine. However, I’m quite confident that my life can move forward just fine without Facebook. In fact, I’ve been cutting my life out of it bit-by-bit. First, I unsubscribed from the RSS feeds that fed my Google Reader about your links, your status updates, etc. Then, a bit later, I deleted everything off my wall, and set my account settings such that if you came to my profile, all you saw was my contact information. Then, I signed out of Facebook Chat with my XMPP client. And you know what? No one has noticed. No one is noticing that I’m not active on Facebook. No one is noticing that I’m not online to chat. Everyone is too busy shouting themselves, that they haven’t even noticed I’ve slipped out behind the back door, and have been enjoying a quiet walk in the brisk night air.

So, why announce it? Why not just quietly delete the account, and move on? Because I want everyone else to think about it themselves. Are you really that interested in what everyone else is saying, or are you just using the social site as a gaming platform? Why are you on the site again? I don’t care if you don’t delete your account like I am doing, but if you end up asking yourself these questions, and honestly evaluate why you’re using the site, then my purpose of writing this post has been accomplished.

I don’t know exactly when I’ll end the account, but it will be soon. Lastly, here’s some words of thought for you. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, I think this picture speaks volumes.

UPDATE 2: For a better written post on my feelings about today’s event, head over to PCMag and read the article by Sascha Sagen. My feelings exactly. The iPhone is a good phone (it’s not crap, it’s just not 5-star), it just isn’t the savior of mankind, now that it’s on an GSM network.

I want to get a head start on this, before the blogoshpere goes bananas with “OMG!” and “I told you so”. In case you’ve been living under a rock, there have been rumors floating all around the Internet that the Apple iPhone will launch on the Verizon network, effectively losing the carrier vendor lockin with AT&T in the United States. People have weighed in on every side of the issue. And now, it’s my turn.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at 11:00 am (1/11/11 11:00), Verizon is holding a press event in New York, NY to make a big announcement. They haven’t given any details as to what the event is about. Why would Verizon hold such an event after practically taking center stage at CES? The only reason is that it is announcing the iPhone on its network. This makes sense for two reasons:

1. Apple isn’t releasing a new product, like the rumored “iPhone 5″, so it’s not an Apple event. Otherwise, it would be held in San Francisco, CA.
2. Apple has never attended CES, but instead, has always had its own press events held on its own terms. Preventing the announcement at CES is on par for the company.

So, want my take on the announcement? Big deal. Here’s why:

Unfortunately for Apple, they won’t be announcing any new hardware. It’s the same iPhone 4 that is on AT&T’s network. I highly doubt there will be a single specification change. Why should anyone purchase the same hardware, when there are much more capable phones out now, and coming out on a variety of carriers, including Motorola, HTC, Samsung, LG and others?

People jumped onto the iPhone bandwagon when it was announced on AT&T for two reasons: Apple fanboys and superior hardware. People getting an iPhone on the Verizon network will be: Apple fanboys.

I’ve heard the argument that people on the AT&T network would jump ship in a massive exodus to Verizon, given AT&T’s struggle to keep a reliable network up. But, I don’t buy it, because many of them are in contract and people aren’t going to replace their existing iPhone 4, just to switch over (although some iPhone 3 users might for the upgrade). Is the Tuesday event going to make a splash? Sure, but in the “I told you so category”. People will purchase the phone, and others will switch. But I’m not expecting a massive rush “just because”. Even if Verizon offers some sort of coupon or discount for only current AT&T subscribers.

Further, rumors surround the Internet that Apple is expecting to push “iPhone 5″, as well as the “iPad 2″, but they wouldn’t announce that at a Verizon event. It would be at an Apple event, as already mentioned, because of the new hardware. So, why would people get the iPhone 4, when it’s successor is just around the corner, unless it’s substantially cheaper?

There’s far too much momentum behind Google’s Android. If you kept an eye on CES, every network announced several Android devices, all over the hardware specification spectrum, and everyone except AT&T already has a serious Android lineup. Networks want more and more hardware choices for their consumers, and more and more hardware companies want Android. HTC and Motorola have invested heavily. This event will boost Apple shares for a week or two, and that’s about the extent I’m willing to take it. There is just too much momentum behind Android right now.

Lastly, a lot of the “I want an iPhone, but I’ll wait for it to come to [insert my favorite network here]” people have moved on. That ship has long sailed. I personally know of 3 people who waited for iPhone to come to Verizon, but the HTC Incredible and the Motorola Droid ended up being the better purchase, all of which absolutely love their phones. They’re not the only ones. I’ve been reading it on the Internet for the past couple of years. Apple, you’re just too late to the game; you waited too long for too many.

So, I’m not buying it; literally. I have the HTC Evo 4G, and it’s head and shoulders over the iPhone 4. It’s no contest, and it’s already outdated hardware. Google brought me in. When it’s time to upgrade, I’ll be looking for another Android superphone to replace my Evo.

Email

• I currently have 54,675 email messages in my Gmail account total.
• According to GMail, “You are currently using 2177 MB (28%) of your 7532 MB.”
• I have 164 filters sending mail to 111 labels.
• I have had this account since June 25, 2004.
• In the first 3 years, I had amassed (sent and received) a total of about 20,000 emails.
• In the last 3 years, I have since amassed about an additional 35,000 emails.
• I have 1,879 separate chat logs since Google Talk released and started logging the chats.
• I’m following 56 people in Buzz.

Instant Messaging

• I am currently in 26 active IRC channels with Irssi.
• I am currently connected to 4 separate IRC networks
• I have been connected to IRC 24/7 since February 25, 2006
• At one point, I was in 81 IRC channels across 7 separate networks (according to my logs).
• My IRC logs occupy 239MB of disk space uncompressed.
• I have sent 6,572 “dents” to microblogging service Identi.ca
• Of which I am a member of 88 groups (honest coincidence).
• Further, I’m following 193 accounts.
• I’m also on Twitter following 124 users and have produced 1,602 “tweets”.
• I have 3 IM accounts: Facebook, Google Talk and a local XMPP instance, each for various reasons, all of which I am connected to 24/7.

RSS

• Since June 17, 2006 I have read a total of 207,620 items, reading 99%.
• From my 143 subscriptions, over the last 30 days I read 8,767 items, clicked 106 items, starred 1 items, shared 274 items, and emailed 9 items.
• My subscriptions are categorized into 34 tags.
• I share an average of 9.1 items per day.
• I am following 56 people in Google Reader (synchronized with Google Buzz apparently).

People complain about television saying there’s “nothing on”. When I’m all caught up with my email, IM and RSS, I feel the same way about the Internet.