Well Colour Me Shocked... not.

InformationWeek Weblog: iPhone Dead After 40 Minutes?

Well, unlike Eric in this article who pretty much says, "Apple couldn't be like that WAHHH!", I'm not surprised, and it matched what I've heard myself from inside Cingular too.

I also heard that as recently as 3 months ago, the Network Test team weren't being allowed handsets, instead Apple guys were turning up with black box test units.  That doesn't auger well either.

The battery life shouldn't be a surprise.  I've also heard rumours that the battery isn't removable, but that would be dumb.  Actually, its even more dumb in pre-production test models because you expect the battery to hose down in minutes and you typically want to have them wired up in strange ways to see where the drain is.

I'm also not all that surprised by the UI foibles.  That's pretty common on a new phone when you've left it a long time before you test on the real network. 

One of the problems MS had in moving to the phone world is that embedded software when connected to a network doesn't behave the way you expect it, and, at the end of the day, there is no real substitute for attaching mule devices to a live network and seeing what happens.  If you've built really good software but only tested it with an ethernet or wifi link to the outside world, you'll not have prepared yourself for the latency you see in networks - especially a US one.

It looks pretty, but I still think Apple has bitten off a lot more than it can chew here.

My, that was thorough...

Registered with the Dentist today.  I've been to them a couple of times for emergency treatment and apart from almost dying from some antibiotics, I've found the treatment good.  I broke a tooth at the end of last year and he suggested that, based on the work inside my mouth already, I might be ready for some serious dental work from a professional.

As I'm pushing 40 and had most of my work put in during the early 80s, he's probably right.

So, I was a little nervous about this and rightly so.  Firstly a BP test... WTF?  Apart from stressing over work and the dentist, I didn't expect nor want one.  I especially didn't like having the cuff fitted over my thick rugby shirt sleeve.  So, the damage after all this 150/80 - which historically isn't all that bad for a first reading, especially as my pulse went from 70ish to 95 while they measured.  I don't know why I do this, I just do.  Still, that reading means the actual number is probably actually in the 135/70 range, which is pretty good.

So, onto the analysis and x-rays, a dozen of those and a review of bone density, checking for lumps and oral cancer, review of gums and general oral hygine.  The good news was I brush my teeth reasonably well, but could floss more and should use a Flouride based mouth wash rather than the anti-septic one I use, which wasn't so bad.

More good news, the 2 teeth he thought would need Root Canals last year actually look much better on these x-rays and the root is likely to be ok on both.

Onto the bad news...  

I need 5 crowns - 1 on the tooth I broke and 1 next to it where the filling is breaking and he doesn't want to fill again.  1 on another tooth I had a dentist "bodge" in 1999 when I was broke.  He wasn't happy at the time but it has lasted 8 years which is pretty good.  1 on tooth I had a root canal on a year ago (which I also knew about) and another not urgent one where a large filling is rotting away and he doesn't think he can fill again without breaking the tooth.

Ouch.

The surprise came at the end.  "Your front incisor on the left is dead, you've had an abcess.  Look at this amazing x-ray of the hole in your jaw."  Er...  I looked and indeed saw the hole.  "Have you been hit there?"  I thought about this.  "Could have been any time in the last 20 years."

"Oh, er... Rugby?", I said.  "That'd do it," he replied.

So I need a Root Canal there, which is unexpected but he's pretty sure the root has been dead a long time and we're making sure the tooth doesn't break on me.  Strangely he said not to bother with a crown unless I want to.  His advice on the front teeth was to leave them another couple of decades when they'll probably need work as part of the natural order of things.

Only sad point is my damaged tooth which has been a problem for almost 5 years is probably too broken to salvage.  The root canal is failing and the remaining tooth is decayed.  Its probably beyond economic or sane repair.  He's referred me to specialist to discuss this.

Itsn't modern dentistry a weird thing.  My ex-father in law had had all his out at my age.