This has been a long time coming. I was in the US during the initial iPhone launch and I missed it when the 3G version was launched in Australia partly because I was still under contract and that it was carried by my carrier, and then missed the 3GS launch as I had just upgraded to a Nokia e71 only a couple of months before as I wasn’t sure if my carrier would sell it.

So 3 years after the initial iPhone launch, I’ve jumped on the bandwagon and got myself one. This is the iPhone with the amazing screen but flawed antenna design. Heh, Apple products these days get so much attention that a person dropping their brand, spanking new phone and shattering it also gets coverage in the news. Granted, the phone is made of glass on both sides, instead of a plastic back in the previous version, hence the comparison to toast buttered on both sides, where dropping it on either side now would be a no no. Being glass and metal, you have to be careful how you grip it as there is no friction and it will easily slide out of your hands.

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Heh, can go on and on about the phone, but I’d rather not get carried away.

The weather has been dismal as usual. It rains practically every single day, and it’s been pretty cold. I’ve sort of got accustomed to the weather, and can function properly even if my hands and feet are frozen.

So I’ve been waiting for things to happen. Waited 3 years to get an iPhone. Waited more than a month for our dining table to arrive. Was quoted 3 to 4 weeks, got delays from the supplier and when they finally get it in stock 2 weeks after that, there’s no one to deliver it, hence we didn’t get it until today. Heh, it’s a solid piece of furniture and now the dining table has stopped looking sparse.

On more waiting, finally bought a replacement heatsink for my graphics card. I’m generally pretty happy with my computer but one thing that’s been irking me for the past year is the horrible fan that came with the graphics card. It runs at full speed, making this whirring sound that stands out like a sore thumb and the cooling performance is still very lousy. I was reluctant to change it as I have done this on a previous graphics card and had set that one aflame. That killed the graphics card and sadly, the computer was never the same again being slightly wonky in stability.

Put up with this horrendous sound for a year, and with the random crash of Starcraft 2 I deliberated between getting a new graphics card at $270 or a new heatsink at $22. The heatsink was the better outcome as my graphics card is nowhere near obsolete as yet.

Decided to finally do the surgical operation on my computer today and having better understanding of electronics (you do not want to short circuit your PCBs) I had a good idea on how to plonk the heatsink on this time. After an interruption from a phone call, finally got it hooked up, and I put the graphics card back into the computer. Flipped the power switch and you could see this giant smile materialise on my face.

You could hear the soft hum of the fans turning as the computer came alive. It was barely audible and I can finally hear myself think in my study room. With no annoying buzzing whirl distracting me, I can finally complain about one thing less. Heh, restored some confidence in doing particularly hazardous computer surgery in myself.