So I got a Nexus One

So I got a Nexus One

Sometimes the reckless pace of modern life is just unbearable. No time to ponder on the meaning of things, no time to enjoy the wonders around us, no time for anything that really matters!
Remember how it used to be? Before the internet, before all this nonsense. When people actually took the time to write letters - on paper...

Ah, if I only I could say 'no' to this modern craze, and live my life at a more leisurely speed.

As it turns out, almost nobody can, but apparently Brightpoint Netherlands begs to differ, as they made a point of taking 6 full weeks to ship me a Nexus One - a mean speed of 1.37 km/h. That's probably slow enough to warrant some significant relativistic effects. I should have checked the phone clock - I'm sure it was several minutes ahead the rest of the world.

Anyway: here's the live blog (lies, it happened days ago) of the Big Event as it unfolds, with my impressions and unadulterated thoughts. Let's pretend it was exactly midnight (it almost was) when I first opened the courier box...



0.00.00: Oooh, the white packaging is just beautiful. Lemme stare at it some more.


0.00.10: So beautiful and shiny and metallic! I already love you, Nexus One.


0.00.20: Ok, as much as I hate this, I need to charge the phone first. (I grab one of my mini-usb chargers)


0.00.25: Seriously HTC, what gives? What's the point? Oh, right. Guess I'll have to use included the micro-usb charger.


0.01.00 to 2.00.00:  Cool, I'm going to have a native 2.1 to do development on! I won't root it so I can test if my new advanced low-level features work on real-world devices. No, I won't root it. Most customers don't root their phones! I definitely won't.


2.00.00: Time to press the power button!


2.00.20: Wow, the thing is screaming fast. It booted already!


2.00.22: Hello, little green android. Eeew, you still want to be touched? Ok, I'll bring myself to touch you, hold on.


2.00.24: Hmmm....


2.00.25: Screw this.


2.05.00: Hello again, little green android. Now, after a quick googling, unlocking the bootloader, fastbooting some recovery and flashing Cyanogenmod - now I can finally touch you guilt-free. Root can get away with anything.


2.06.00: Wow, the thing is screaming fast.


2.07.00: Oh cm'on, you gotta be kidding me! Your screen used to be so shiny that by just glancing through it as a mirror to the night sky I could precisely calculate the red shift on any celestial object. What's this now? What's with the greasy mess on you? It's gross! So the whole red-green-blue-yellow fiesta was a blatant lie after all, to lure me into unconditional yet immature love! Only now I see your true colours - the same as before, but all smeared and opaque-ish.


2.10.00: But I must concede the touch sensitive "hardware" buttons are awesome.


2.15.00: But I do miss the hardware red key. Turning off the screen gives me InstaCramps® now.


2.15.04: I never call anybody, so the green key is actually a good riddance.


2.15.05: Wouldn't it be cool? Having the red key but not the green one. Beside the stylish asymmetry, it'd be a hell of a social stand. "Can I see your awesome phone?" "Sure, enjoy it screaming to your face how I will never call you - and I'll be more than happy to instantly hang up on you should you dare call". Such a voice-communication-averse "phone" would be an instant hit with the programmer crowd.


2.20.00: (I'm laying in bed) How am I supposed to hold this thing? (no, I'm not talking about self-exploration) It's too long (I said no!), and the power button gets in the way all the time. (see? told ya!) Reading stuff is frustrating. I should install Paperdroid Pro and enjoy tilt-scroll. By the way, the thing is screaming fast.


2.20.05: No, I can't do it. I'm ashamed. I shouldn't even think of it. It went without a much-needed update for months. I solemnly swear I won't install it on the N1 until I'll be actually rewriting it.


yesterday: As a matter of course I forgot the usb-to-micro-usb cable in the middle of nowhere. I've got 7 mini-usb cables, but no micro-usb cable is to be found in the whole of Venice. Market inefficiency! If I were a tourist, I'd love a micro-usb cable for a souvenir! Guess I'm not going to be able to do any coding tomorrow...


yesterday + 5 seconds: Wow, the thing is screaming fast.

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