Yesterday I took the first step toward buying a townhouse: I wrote a check for nearly $17,000. This check reserves my specific townhouse unit. On Monday I go in and sign the sales contract, a 25 mm-thick document. I’m very nervous about the whole thing.
After help my my good friend on the iTunes team, we determined that my account was still registered as a corporate account, rather than an individual account (iPhone only works with individual accounts). This was the result of me being a customer for more than 10 years.
I called AT&T back, and the CSA very quickly took some action to somehow finalize the conversion of my account from business to individual. Apparently, this final step had not been taken by the previous CSA. As soon as she did that, I was able to activate my phone, and my number ported within the hour (probably faster; I didn’t check it until an hour later).
Thanks to everyone (especially Mike W.!) who helped set this mess straight.
So far, I'm blown away by the phone, but there are some peculiarities. First and foremost, I wish all list views could have entries deleted by gesturing, rather than having to enter edit mode. Perhaps Apple will refine this sort of thing soon.
More to come, I’m sure…
Feh. I’m sitting here with my beautiful new iPhone, trying to go through the activation process. iTunes keeps reporting to me how sorry it is that AT&T has determined that my current account cannot be used with the iPhone. It provided me a number to call, or offered me the option of creating a new account, which is really not what I want to do. I’m sitting on hold with a very kind Canadian customer service agent for AT&T.
Apparently I am on a promotional rate plan that is incompatible with the notion that all existing Cingular/AT&T customers can upgrade to iPhone. Okay, fine, after several attempts, he was able to switch me to a non-promotional plan.
Then, it turns out, my account is a business account. This is very strange. I’ve never asked for a business account. I’ve had my Cingular (the new AT&T) service since it was called Pacific Bell Mobile Services. Not once have I ever been told I had a business account. I’ve always used the “personal†account avenues when contacting Cingular (personal account contact numbers, the personal account link on the web page, etc.)
So, the poor Canadian CSA is waiting on hold with the AT&T business account division to convert my business account into a personal account, which should then allow me to activate my iPhone. Apparently the benefit of having a business account is that only a poorly staffed call center can handle your specific issues.
Sigh.
I’m in line, as I write this, waiting to buy an iPhone. Yesterday I bought a 3G ExpressCard for my MBP, and discovered that it doesn't work very well. I gave it to my buddy Mike to use, and he’s sharing the internet connection over WiFi (it seems to work much better for him).
A while ago one of the store employees came out (this was after a FedEx delivery at about 1300) and said, “I can’t reveal specific inventory levels, but all of you,” as he gestured to the whole line, "will be getting an iPhone."
It’s now 1428. Less than four hours to go…
Update (1438): I’ve just plugged the MBP into my buddy’s Vector Power Supply. Among other things, it includes a 200 W power inverter.
Ugh. What incredible bullshit. A high school senior was arrested for something he wrote for class. All the conservative, uptight fucks in this country need to go jump in the ocean and leave.
