So far, I haven't lost a single call on the iPhone nor have I had a single call in Klingon. OK, so now I've lost a few calls, but I can only attribute one of them to a problem on my end. Still much better than any phone I've had previously. My Treo wouldn't get a signal in certain parts of my house - not so with the iPhone. Even when it has only 1 bar, the calls are crystal clear and sound better than any call I ever had on my Treo. For call quality alone, I'm a satisfied customer.

But it's a really cool phone. I've enjoyed discovering all of the cool things it does. Shortly after I got the phone, we went to dinner at Macalister's Deli for dinner and while we were waiting for our food, my daughter Paige and I watched an episode of What the Buck?! on my phone. How cool is that? The only downside is that since the iPhone doesn't do Flash just yet, I have to go to YouTube and find the WTB videos rather than being able to watch them on the site. But who can complain about having YouTube at your fingertips anytime you're bored in a meeting waiting for a meeting to start?

With all the hubbub around the iPhone and 3rd party applications, I thought, what the hell, I'll try the forbidden fruit and I installed some 3rd party applications on my phone. It was fun to be able to play games (sorely lacking from the standard iPhone) and change my icons and home screen background, but there really wasn't anything there I'll miss. Sure, there is a philosophical issue around the idea that this is MY phone and I'll install anything I want, but I the only compelling 3rd party functionality I really want and feel I must have is custom ringtones.

Yes, Apple lets you pay twice for music you already own to create custom ringtones for the iPhone, but I think that's just idiotic. I bought the music and I have the right to listen to it how I see fit regardless of how much the RIAA cries about it. If I'm not out profiting on an artist's work, they have no right to restrict my usage or make me pay twice for my music. That's why I use iToner, a 3rd party application that lets you use any MP3 or AAC file as a ringtone. It's just drag, drop, sync.

Unfortunately, the new iPhone software that Apple released last week has broken even the 3rd party applications that don't use so-called "jail break" hacks like iToner. So, until they come up with a workaround, I am again stuck with the default ringtones on my iPhone. At least since iToner doesn't use these so-called "jail breaks" there should be a relatively quick fix. Let's all keep our fingers crossed.

AT&T may immediately terminate or suspend all or a portion of your Service, any Member ID, electronic mail address, IP address, Universal Resource Locator or domain name used by you, without notice, for conduct that AT&T believes (a) violates the Acceptable Use Policy; (b) constitutes a violation of any law, regulation or tariff (including, without limitation, copyright and intellectual property laws) or a violation of these TOS, or any applicable policies or guidelines, or (c) tends to damage the name or reputation of AT&T, or its parents, affiliates and subsidiaries.

Boy how times have changed...It was only a few decades ago the AT&T the US government were mortal enemies and AT&T was labeled as a monopoly and split into pieces. Today, AT&T is larger than it ever was before, collects and sends your information to Uncle Sam as a matter of course, and if you say something they don't like, well, they can just shut your ass right up. AT&T has given itself more power than even the US government is supposed to have in terms of censorship and spying.

Isn't it amazing what 30 years and millions of dollars in lobbying can get for you?