Listening to PodCasts on my phone and strolling on the beach. I have to take it easy today so my neck can get better.

Timeout!

As Kris mentioned yesterday I have hurt my neck. I went to the physio this morning and the healing has begun. I have to take it easy over the next couple of days. That means I can't spend 18 hours a day in front of my PC writing and hacking code.
So off to the beach...

Lunch and REST

I had lunch with good friend Luke Burton. Lots of interesting conversation from trading systems for investment banking, through to PodCasts and then on to the topic of web services and REST.
The recurring theme was "It's funny how sometimes we get so bogged down in the technology we forget what we are actually trying to achieve".

Finding your way with MapPoint

I love the fact that Chandu found out about and blogged about this article 'Finding your way with MapPoint' before I did!
You'd think I might be told when it was published!
I hope you enjoy reading it and get started with some MapPoint development, maps are cool!

Podcast crazy

I've been sitting and doing quite a lot of writing this last few weeks. Mostly articles for magazines. While writing I have been listening to lots of PodCasts.
PodCasts are a form of Audio Blog, to find out more have a look at iPodder.org
I am using iPodder to download the Podcasts.
Some of my favourite PodCasts are:
Daily Source Code
Evil Genius Chronicles
IT Conversations
Dot Net Rocks
Podcasting from SoftwareLand

iSIM Saga - case closed

Well today I recieved a refund of the money that iSIM took from me last month. I can't say if posting the entire story here made any difference.

The iSIM saga - Don't sign up with iSIM

The iSIM saga
On the 13th of October I found a new online prepaid mobile phone deal called iSIM. The rates looked good and they provide GPRS access on their prepaid plan.
You can find out all about them here http://www.isim.com.au/Prepaid/Home.aspx
BUT WHATEVER YOU DO DON’T SIGN UP WITH THEM.
FIRST READ THIS….
So I signed up and paid $19.95 on my credit card
I promptly got this reply (personal details removed):

---

iSIM - Powered by Optus Welcome - Invoice

Dear Dr Roodyn,

Thank you for choosing iSIM. You can now enjoy the great competitive rates, which include:
• 39c a Minute (per second billing)
• No flag fall on calls within Australia
• 15c per SMS (up to 160 characters)
• 19c voicemail retrieval.
You also have the convenience of recharging your account 24 hours per day, 7 days a week online or via SMS.

iSIM would like to confirm your user name and password are correct when you signed up with iSIM:
User Name:
Password:

If the above details are incorrect, please email us on:

mailto:help@isim.com.au

We hope you enjoy your service with iSIM. For further information, please visit www.isim.com.au today. If you require help related to your account or services, please read our FAQs at:

Frequently Asked Questions

Please find attached your Tax Invoice for future reference.

Once again, thank you for choosing iSIM!

Kind regards,

The iSIM Team

---

So I thought that’s great – and expected to get my SIM card in the mail.
A couple of days later I decide to go to the iSIM website and check the status of my order – I wonder if my SIM card has been sent to me yet.
I discover that the order has been cancelled so I wrote iSIM the following email:

---

Hi,
My user name is NRoodyn.
On October 13th I used the web site to order an iSim card for my phone.
There were a few issues with getting the website to accept my details – maybe because I am not an Australian resident?
Anyway eventually it seemed to be accepted and I was notified that my transaction was complete,
Now when I look on the web site it states that “Your iSIM order has been cancelled.”
Please can you contact me so that I can use your services?
regards
Dr. Neil Roodyn
Increase the value of your Software Business
Neil@Roodyn.com

---

To which I received this prompt response:

---

Dear iSIM customer,

Thank you for your enquiry.

This is what we have been informed by the credit department as below.

CANCELLED BY CREDIT DEPARTMENT. CANCELLATION: SIMplus may immediately cancel the Service in a variety of circumstances, including: if, there are reasonable grounds to suspect that you provided incorrect information to activate the Service; there has been fraud or misuse by you in relation to the Service; you transfer your SIM to another party without obtaining SIMplus' consent to do so; or you breach the terms of the SFOA. You may cancel the Service if SIMplus breaches the terms of the SFOA. Upon cancellation, you must promptly return the SIM to SIMplus.We hope you enjoy our service with iSIM. For further information, please visit www.isim.com.au today.

Kind regards,

---

To which I replied thus:

---

Ok, so how can resolve this?
I would like to order a SIM card for use in my phone.
Is there a way you can call me and get this happening?
My phone number is:

regards
Dr. Neil Roodyn
Increase the value of your Software Business

---

And their response was:

---

Dear iSIM customer,

Thank you for your enquiry.

Unfortunatly there is nothing that we are able to do now, credit have cancelled the order, we are unable to change this. if you have been charged for this transacion a credit will be reaised with in 72 hours to your credit card.
We hope you enjoy our service with iSIM. For further information, please visit www.isim.com.au today.

Kind regards,

iSIM Team

---

To which I responded with:

---

I understand that this order has been cancelled and there is nothing you can do about this particular order.
The question I am asking is how do I go about placing another order for an iSIM card when the web site doesn't accept my details?

regards
Dr. Neil Roodyn
Increase the value of your Software Business

---

And they came back to me with this:

---

Dear iSIM customer,

Thank you for your enquiry.

Unfortunatly if you have had a order cancelled you wont be able to sign up for a service with isim. We suggest that you do seek a mobile service with a different service provider.
We hope you enjoy our service with iSIM. For further information, please visit www.isim.com.au today.

Kind regards,

iSIM Team

---

One thing I was interested in was how I was supposed to ‘enjoy our service with iSIM’ when they refused to do business with me.

At this point I thought, ok fair enough I’ll get my money back and stay with Vodafone.
So when 5 days later my $19.95 had still not been refunded I thought I should contact them again:

---

Hi,

I have been told that my account has been cancelled. I am not sure why this is. It appeared at first to be an issue with my credit card, but I now see from my credit card statement that you have taken the money from my credit card.
The money was taken on 13th October. It is now 20th October and neither has the money been refunded or my iSim card arrived.
I would like to receive an iSim card. If this is not possible then I would like to know why my money has not been refunded.
I would appreciate it if someone could call me to work this out on

regards
Dr. Neil Roodyn
Increase the value of your Software Business

---

Of course they did not phone me but they did get back via email again:

---

Dear iSIM customer,

Thank you for your enquiry.

Your refund was raised on the 15th October and approved by my Manager on the 18th October. so your refund will be processed in the next few days.

We hope you enjoy our service with iSIM. For further information, please visit www.isim.com.au today.

Kind regards,
Marlene
iSIM Team

---

Great so I should my money back in a few days, but I wanted to clarify this os I wrote them another email:

---

Hello,

Just to be clear, I want to make sure this is correct.
The payment was made on 13th October, on the 15th October I am told that for credit reasons the account cannot be opened, and yet iSIM still deducts the money from my account. It then takes 3 days to get the 'refund' approved and then from today (20th October) it takes another 'few days' for me to get my money.
Is this correct?

How does this equate to the 72 hours I was told previously it would take to refund my account?

regards
Dr. Neil Roodyn
Increase the value of your Software Business

---

To which they responded:

---

Dear iSIM customer,

Thank you for your enquiry.

The funds are deducted at the point of sign up, it is only after this that you did not meet the criteria for credit.

Unfortunatly we need to follow procedures, this refund has been processed and sent to the banks, it can take the bank a few days to process this request.
We hope you enjoy our service with iSIM. For further information, please visit www.isim.com.au today.

Kind regards,

iSIM Team

---

Another 6 days go past and no sign of my money so I figure it is time to write to them again:

---

Last week I was told I would receive my refund for the iSIM account that could not be activated for credit reasons. I still have not received the refund.
Will you please advise as to when this is likely to happen?

regards
Dr. Neil Roodyn
Increase the value of your Software Business

---

To which they responded:

---

Dear iSIM customer,

Thank you for your enquiry.

You should recieve the refund with in the next working week. I will look into the credit today to make sure this has been done for youWe hope you enjoy our service with iSIM. For further information, please visit www.isim.com.au today.

Kind regards,

iSIM Team

---

Well I have still not received the refund and right now I don’t really expect to see that money again. So I am posting this here in the hope that some other folks read this and don’t sign up with iSIM.

Share Keyboard and Mouse between Desktop and Tablet PC

So now I have my Tablet sitting in it's stand next to the screen of my desktop PC I want to share the keyboard and mouse that is plugged into my desktop PC and use it on my Tablet PC. I dont want to clutter my desk with another keyboard and mouse.
Of course I could use a remote PC connection but then I basically give up the Tablet PC screen and might as well have the Tablet PC sitting on a shelf!
A friend suggested I try MaxiVista which looks good and would allow me to use my Tablet PC as a second screen on my desktop PC. Trouble is I just couldn't get MaxiVista to work. So they don't get my $50!
I have downloaded the Tablet PC Utility: ShareKMC this looks pretty good but it seems to work quite slowly. There is obvious delay in the mouse movement. I might try it some more.
My latest download is Synergy this looks really promising and the source is avaiable too! If it doesn't do exactly what I want I can make it do what I want :)
If I remember I'll keep you posted on progress and let you know what I end up using.

What's Dr. Neil doing?

I've been keeping busy this week with a couple of projects.
This week I finished reviewing what I hope is the final maniscript for my book eXtreme .NET
I've also been working with some clients on new features for Dr. Neil's Smartphone Toolkit.
Of course I've also been providing support to existing customers of the SmartSMS Dev Kit.

Aside from this I've been listening to a bunch of PodCasts using iPodder.NET. A .NET Framework implementation of iPodder proposed by Adam Curry.
I've been trawling through some old IT Conversations. Interesting stuff.

My new Tablet PC stand

I have been thinking of getting a dock for my Toshiba M200. But the issue with the dock is that I have to take off the portfolio case each time I want to dock it and then put it back on when I want to go out and about with the Tablet.
I wanted a solution that would let me stick the Tablet on my desk and use it, then be able to pick it up and go.
I also wanted access to the ports at the side so I can plug cables in and out etc... Of course the dock would solve the cable problem but not the case problem.
Today I have found a solution that might just work.
I bought a plastic plate stand from a homeware store. It wasn't a perfect fit but with the help of a file I removed some of the stand and shaped it to hold the Tablet.
Here it is:

My New Tablet Stand in action 


This is it! 

The best thing is the price!
$2.50 + about two hours with a file and some sandpaper :)

Saturday morning bike ride

Last week I got a new bicycle. It's a Cruiser 800 from Learsport. It is good to have a bike again. Last week, the day after I got the bike, I went for a short ride down to Manly beach .
This morning I did a slightly longer ride north along the coast. The sun is out, the sky is a crystal blue and the sea is a beautiful blue/green.
Life is very good today.

Thought for the morning

It is good to be back in Australia. This morning I went for a run on the beach and then a splash in the sea :)
Back home in the shower (the place I tend to get most inspiration) I was thinking through some of the things I've done in my life. Lots of success but also some failure. I thought how I have learnt more from failure than success, yet we tend measure people from their record of success rather than the lessons they've learnt from failure. Strange huh?
I think:
"The past is a history to learn from not repeat"

No more wires

I've arrived back in Sydney to discover that there is now an option to have a broadband connection without having a phone line called Unwired I've signed up and so far so good.
I'm also now signed up with Engin a VOIP provider. This means I don't have a phone line coming in to the apartment at all and yet I have a broadband connection and very cheap phone calls.
Goodbye to those nasty old telecommunications companies.

Too busy to blog

Blogging seems to be one of those things I can do more of when there is less to talk about!
When I'm doing lots of things that would probably be interesting to put in my blog I am too busy doing those things to write in my blog!
This leads me to wonder if blogging is a way of creating something interesting when there is nothing else interesting going on :)
I know when I was writing my book my blog became a good distraction.
Now that my book is pretty much done. I'm back out on the road working with companies and visiting interesting places. Some of what I am doing I cannot put in blog as I have signed many NDAs in the last few months. The rest of it I could bring you up to date on.
I am now in San Francisco. The sun us shining and life is good.
I flew in the other day from Seattle where I have been for the past two weeks.
In Seattle I was doing some work with Microsoft. Everything I am doing revolves around the mobility space. This includes Tablet PCs, Windows Mobile and MapPoint.
MapPoint has really got me excited now that it is possible to have maps on mobile devices. Watch out for some articles and code samples soon.

eXtreme .NET

A few folks have been asking about the book I've been working on. As you can see it's now listed on Amazon. I'm in the final stages of the copy edit and it is on schedule for release this November. I'm looking forward to getting this project completed now!

European tour

I've just finished traveling around Europe. I started in Greece at the end of the games and then was in Italy for a while before ending up in Paris. More travel means more books getting read. The last 3 books are:

	This book was a little harder going than I remember other Bill Bryson books. Still it is jammed full of interesting facts. I give this book 6 out of 10.
	Moore is funny and serious at the same time. The contents of this book are horrific and yet somehow manaaged to get me to laugh most of the way through it. this book gets 8 out of 10.
	After reading The Da Vinci Code I wanted to read some more by Dan Brown. I don't think this was as gripping as The De Vinci Code but I still wanted to get to the end and see what happened. It's a good thriller. 7 out of 10.

What I've been reading on the plane

All this traveling means I am getting a lot of reading done.
I thought it was time to provide an update.

	An interesting read, it is hard to rate a book like this. Paul Graham has brought together a collection of essays. The main points in the book could probably be put into 2 chapters. I liked the style of the writing and although I don't agree with everything the author states, there are lessons to be learnt from this book. I give it 7 out of 10.
	This book is much more technical. Aimed at the computer programmer. A number of topics are covered that help coders become better developers. The idea being that to develop and ship software requires more than just the abilty to write code. I agree with this. Each chapter could be read on its own and covers one topic. I give this book an 8 out of 10. Programmers will become better at shipping software if they follow Mike's ideas. In order to get a 10 Mike should have provided more hands on examples. In the book he discusses a project that he is building but I didnt feel connected with that project and the code snippets felt disjointed.
	A bit of light reading. I liked this book a lot. A good read, interesting characters and a story full of puzzles to solve. Recommended reading, but don't take it too seriously! It appears that there are now a collection of books exposing the 'truth' behind this book. It's fiction! Get with the program and enjoy the story.

Still moving

It's been a while since my last post.
I've not really stopped moving in the last few weeks.
After TechEd in Canberra, I was in Melbourne for a few days presenting MapPoint technoliges at GITA
I then spent a few days in Singapore.
From singapore I flew to London, which is where I am now.
Tomorrow I leave for Greece.
Looking forward to getting back to some warm weather as the summer in England is over now.

City To Surf - Sydney

Yesterday I walked the Sydney City to Surf. A 14 KM run / walk from the centre of Sydney to Bondi beach.
I walked the distance with Brian Randell and Adam Cogan along with family members.
Travelling with Adam's two year old and a Brian's little baby meant we were close to the back of the pack.
It took us about 3 hours to do the walk.
Maybe next year I'll run it if I'm around.

Back in Aus

I flew back to Australia last Friday, and I am now in Canberra for TechEd Australia.
It is cold here. Really cold. It looked like snow earlier today, brrrr....
I am presenting some MapPoint technologies tomorrow. The maps for Australia are being launched here.