I'll be driving up to the Bellevue area Wednesday to meet up with my friend Scott at a geek dinner they're holding at the food court of the Crossroads Bellevue Mall from 6:30-9:00 p.m. Hope to see you there! Here's an iCal item to add it to your Outlook calendar.

Scott started work this week at Microsoft (congrats!) and this will be a fun opportunity to meet a few people and get out of Portland for a day or two. I'll also be dropping by to see a few other friends. Looking forward to the quick trip.

Oh, and if you're going (or even if you're not), please be sure to take the Nerd Test and bring your results along with you (or post in the comments or on your own blog or wherever). Here's mine, for reference. :)

Gearlog's got a post online where Apple's head marketing guy, Greg Joswiak, lets the world know that while they won't support it, Apple also won't try to stop or break the iPhone app community's progress on getting new apps built and onto the iPhone. Then apparently they clarified a couple times and now say future updates probably will break native iPhone apps:

iPhone native application developers, take heart: Apple doesn't hate you. And now you have a whole new device to play with.

Updated 3:15 PM: Apple says "software updates will most likely break" native apps as they go forwards.

Updated 1:15 PM: I just got a call from Joswiak who wanted to make clear: "not hate" doesn't mean "like" or "support." I think I made that clear further down, but they said that some people may not be reading all the way down this piece. So to summarize: Apple will neither forbid nor support native code on the iPhone/Touch. They will not design software updates specifically to break native apps, but if the updates happen to break native apps or your native apps turn your iPhone into a rutabaga, don't go crying to Apple, 'cause it ain't their problem. Capiche?

Nice. I am off to install a few apps myself later today or tomorrow. First on deck is a RSS reader. And maybe a cool lightsaber application heh.

Coming soon: A list of cool iPhone resources I have been collecting as I investigate and search for stuff and chat with people I know.

UPDATED: After initial signup issues earlier in the day I was able to get signed up and online, and this is some really cool stuff. I encourage you to check out ajaxWindows.

Granted, it's probably not set up in the data center for massive use yet, but when I read today about ajaxWindows and get interested enough to where I wanted to check it out, I was a bit disappointed to see this:

I'm glad it's getting a lot of attention, that's cool. And I will check back in an hour. Or so. When I have  a chance, really.

UPDATE: An hour later, they're back online with the sign-on page - but still unable to sign me up:

So I just kept trying and a couple minutes later I was in. All I can say is wow - very cool. Glad they got it back online. Click the image below to see the full-screenshot of the AJAX interface:

Very cool stuff in there, and well worth checking out. If you think about the amount of work that went into this, it's pretty mind-blowing.

This does - however - bring to back mind a thought that crosses my little brain now and then. From a pure scalability standpoint, we have seen a large number of web apps initially released in a manner that doesn't scale to the need. Luckily, in many cases the app creators are able to add hardware (scale out, as they say) and handle increased load. Those are the smart designers. And yes, it costs money to build a large infrastructure before you need it, but if apps do the web-version of a crash as a first impression, you have to know the result can't be good.

So, we'll check it out when it's back up. Here is some of what BetaNews has to say about it:

Ajax13's concept is apparently creating a lot of buzz: a message Tuesday morning on its Web site read "We are currently experiencing massive amounts of user registrations and traffic. Please check back with us in an hour."

Storage for the OS is done through GMail, Music files are stored on MP3Tunes, and any information can be synced with the user's own desktop through an included application.

The OS also supports widgets which allow the user to add small applications such as RSS feeds and games to the desktop. However, at this time, only ajaxWindows' own widgets are supported and not those of other platforms.

I won't be unlocking my own iPhone from the AT&T network simply because for me there is no benefit to doing so (although I probably will be messing with it from the standpoint of hacking in some third party apps). But, if you have  aneed or desire and you want to run down and grab an iPhone (be sure to pay for it after you grab it) and set it up on TMobile in the US or on any GSM service provider(carriers with SIM cards) elsewhere, you can get the software now via iPhoneSIMFree resellers. Be sure to read the fine print about no guarantees it will work if Apple updates the iPhone software with a block, etc.

Here's a link to the video from Engadget showing it actually working.

Microsoft seems to have unleashed (but as of the time of this post has not yet announced) Windows Live Translator in beta. It's pretty slick. As you'd expect, you can translate either entered text or a web page for which you provide a URL. Here's an example, one of my recent blog entries translated into Spanish.

(via LiveSide.net)

I have started to form a couple lists of things to do or learn while I am on my self-induced break time. My typical methodology is to keep lists in my head, which worked well when I was a little younger and could remember things. Not so much the case these days. Ah, oldness. Gotta love it.

So I am organizing a couple lists. One if stuff I want to get done. The other is things I want to learn. Oh and and another one is things to do, which is a sort of people to see and places to go list.

Suggestions are always welcome. What do you think I should do during this unique time?

Stuff I need (or want) to get done

• Get some real rest (making great progress on this one)
• Finish the bonus room floor and trim at home (floor's done!)
• Finish the shed at home
• Add a deck to the side of the house
• Travel somewhere in a 18-wheeler with my friend Broc
• Dust off the cameras and get back into the photography swing
• Sell my street motorcycle (2004 CBR600RR - email me, heh)
• Finish reading this darned Koontz novel that I started 9 months ago, heh (done - it was Intensity and it was a fun read)
• Read another book or two (one for enjoyment, one for furthering myself)

Things I need (or want) to learn

• Learn a programming language, at least at a starter level - I an thinking C# - any ideas?
• I need to study up for a couple certification exams that the whole we-got-bought-busyness process pushed off my schedule, and then reschedule the exams

Things/places I need (or want) to do/go

• Visit family in Colorado
• Visit family in California
• Visit New Mexico (where I used to live)
• Visit a few friends and colleagues in Seattle (I'm about half-way on this one)

I'll add to this list over time. I'm not nearly as concerned about accomplishing all of these things as I am about listing them out where I can see them and whittling away at them over the next little while.