iPhone in the UK

NOTE: This is information I gleaned from an AT&T representative; from what I hear, the information can vary depending on which AT&T representative you speak with... So.. your mileage may vary!

Here is a good one.. (something that is all over the Internet, hopefully this clarifies the issues)

I will be travelling to the UK for a few days (I leave on Friday and return on Wednesday) - I want to take my iPhone and use the data feature...
To summarize: Without a plan I have heard of nightmare $3000 bills. With a plan at a minimum it is $200 (which gives 20MB of data per month). This would involve the early termination fee. From what I can estimate, 20MB is not very much data at all, especially if you are using the map feature to navigate London all day! Anything over this is 1/2 cent a MB. If iPhone was considered a luxury before.. now I am not sure what to call it.. AT&T ripoff? Nah surely not...

Before the gory details: go here and watch the movie - it is hilarious!

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/fyi/how-to-avoid-a-3000-international-iphone-data-bill-285966.php

Here are the gory details (that I was informed)

(800) 335-4685 is the number to call to activate any International features.
International data plan $24.99 month with a 12 month minimum. It is $175 early termination fee. This plan includes 20MB a month. Overages are .5c per MB. Voice calls are charged at $1.29 a minute.

There is an additional service called world traveller. It is $5.99 a month and does not have a minimum contract. Voice is then 99 cents a

Without a plan the cost is 2 cents a KB.

Lunch & Dinner

Isn't it weird when you eat lunch and dinner at two different places and the total comes out to the same $ amount? Weird.. it happened to me just the other day.

Camera I brought to Vancouver

I brought the Nikon 35Ti and a borrowed Nikon Digital P1. The P1 turned out to be very useful for mini videos and the images (jpg as they were) quite good!

Here is one...

I left the image on the small size setting, but you can still see how it worked out quite well.
The 35Ti also was really nice, though the digital really took the picture as it were... Out of the 4-5 rolls of film I barely shot maybe 5 pictures tops! Pathetic really.

Point and Shoot for trip to Vancouver

I spent hours on Sunday debating whether to purchase a new digital Point and Shoot camera. In the end I concluded that all of the cameras have one or more must-haves - they either lack RAW mode, too large or too small etc. Top pics were Canon G7 and... well that really was the top pic! Unfortunately it has some problems for me:
1) It is Canon. Not that there is anything wrong with Canon, it is just that the camera accessories must be Canon - so all my accessories will not work.
2) Lack of RAW mode. Sorry this is a clincher. Burning the final image into a compressed lossy format isn't for me.

In the end I think I will take the Nikon D70 with one lens and Nikon 35Ti
Here are two web links referencing the 35Ti:
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/htmls/models/compact-images/Nikon35Ti28Ti/Html/index.htm
http://nikonimaging.com/global/products/filmcamera/compact/1990-1994/35ti_quartz_date/index.htm
There are a few reviews on the web. Retail was about $1000 used I paid maybe $300-$400. I am not sure now what the price would be.

Oh.. the pictures are really amazing! People compare the camera to SLR quality!

Well the camera isn't made anymore. It is a film camera and more of a Rangefinder than Point and Shoot (meaning more than anything that it requires some manual override to really appreciate its full ability).
So I will be buying and testing some film this week before the trip.
Thankfully we can still buy film.

John Scott Workshop - Signed up

(Weird I typed out a bunch of stuff clicked publish and the only thing that appeared was the title - so now to re-type everything)


So last night I looked around for cheap flights to Vancouver.. usual comparing of websites - this is really easy now with www.sidestep.com - confirmed independently that the price quoted was the cheapest and went for it - booked the ticket and then it hit me... oh no, in my haste to book the airline ticket I forgot that it is prudent to first pay for the workshop then the plane ticket... ooops... as fast as my fingers could type I jumped over to the workshop registration page and entered all the required info.

I was quite relieved to receive the email stating I am confirmed for the workshop.Never know the workshop may have lots of space left, the worst thing would have been that I would spend five days in Vancouver taking photographs and random Yoga classes... not so bad. Now I wish I could have spent that following weekend in Vancouver - oh well it will be expensive enough as it is.