It has always worked great, even back when I was rocking a Discman and oodles of mp3 CDs.  When I moved to the iPod, it continued to work perfectly.  However, since I started using my iPhone as both my phone and main source of music, I have run into a problem.

Every time something is plugged into the headphone jack, my iPod music starts to play.  It doesn’t matter if anything else might be supplying audio to the stereo, such as Pandora or last.fm.  It happens only with things that are non-Apple–I don’t experience it with the stock Apple earbuds at all.

Sometimes it helps if I start the other application (like Pandora), get the music playing, THEN plug in the tape adapter.  Other times nothing seems to help and I give up in frustration.  All I really want is to be able to listen to my awesome Pandora stations on my 30+ minute commute, is that so wrong?

Research I’ve done on the Internet has netted me plenty of gripes from other people with the same problem, but no actual solution.  According to what I’ve read, even Apple doesn’t really have a fix for it.  I don’t know if I should take my iPhone in and complain, or if I will have the same problem with another iPhone.  I suppose I should do it before the end of August, when my 1-year warranty runs out.

Is anyone else having the same problem?  Have you been able to fix it?  Inquiring tech divas want to know.

I spent a LOT of time last night updating my address book. I printed my contacts from GMail and updated Address Book accordingly, then I totally deleted my Google Contacts in anticipation of a nice, clean sync. Then I start downloading the update, which took a long time considering it was 198 MB. While I was waiting, I did a little surfing only to discover that the Google Calendar sync option was only for iPhone and iPod Touch users. ARGH! I was really annoyed.

Thankfully, Lifehacker also posted a workaround for non-iPhone users that allows you to access the sync function, although supposedly it may break after a couple of syncs.  I followed the directions and STILL got no love, so by that time I was steaming mad. Why should non-iPhone users be locked out of such a useful feature? Almost everyone I know uses GMail, not just the few of my friends who currently rock the iPhone.

After I recovered from my righteous anger, I exported my Address Book to Google-friendly CSV using the handy little tool A to G, then imported it into my Google Contacts. It worked just fine, and so I went about the business of syncing my Windows Mobile phone via Missing Sync.

Lo and behold, I get a bunch of conflicts when my contacts try to sync to the phone–Google Contacts conflicts! Apparently the Google Contacts sync is tied to Sync Services, so when I tried to sync my phone, it went ahead to sync my contacts to my Google account. Double ARGH!! I wish I’d known that before I imported all my contacts and then had to work through 134 conflicts.

So, seriously, Apple. I know you want people to buy the iPhone, especially with 2.0 right around the corner. I was briefly a convert to the iPhone kool-aid, before I realized that it didn’t offer a robust enough feature set for my needs. It’s a beautiful, well-done device, but let’s face it–not everyone’s going to own one. So why lock down such a universally appealing feature? I call weak sauce.

More than 20,000 people are pissed off enough to join a group, have passive-aggressive discussions, and make lolcat-style protest pictures tagged NoVideo. There are also a few petitions going around requesting that Flickr remove the video feature and keep the site as a photography and photographer-focused community.

I really don’t understand. I’ve been a Flickr user since the very beginning–since before Flickr Pro Accounts were even available for purchase. I love Flickr’s ease of use, the community aspect of group pools and discussions, and the way I can interact with pictures from my friends and family. I think the addition of video is a great new feature–it’s not meant to be a YouTube clone for the latest in Internet video memes.

Videos are limited to 90 seconds, which is just long enough for a baby’s first steps, the highlights from a wedding dance, or a moment captured at a party. Videos can now sit alongside photo collections to help tell the story in a way still pictures cannot. What’s so wrong with that, fellow Flickrers?

I’m interested to see how Flickr responds. My hope is that they won’t cave and remove Flickr video completely, but I do understand that if people decide to be more active about controlling the situation, Flickr stands to lose a lot of business. I would like to see a way that users could opt-out of video if they really want to, although I really don’t see why that would even be necessary. If you don’t like a feature, just don’t use it. If you’re so opposed to a video being in someone’s photostream, just don’t click on it. Flickr, don’t let the haters win.

T-Mobile is seriously missing the boat.

I am a T-Mobile customer, and actually a very happy one. I get excellent customer service, which is something I never received from my former carrier, Sprint. The customer service line has helped me through a few small problems I’ve had with my account over the past 5 years, and the in-store customer service has always been friendly and courteous. I get fairly consistent coverage throughout the DFW area, which is very important considering that I travel locally on a regular basis. But I draw the line at using a T-Mobile branded phone.

The T-Mobile phone lineup is inconsistent and poorly balanced. There are many lower-end multimedia phone offerings from Motorola, Samsung, and Nokia, and then very expensive high-end Blackberries, Sidekicks and sub-par Windows Mobile phones that T-Mobile never gives a good price break.

AT&T has been running a special on the Blackberry Curve, the Samsung BlackJack II, and the Pantech Duo. All 3 phones are feature-packed, solid performers, and are being offered for $99 with a new contract. T-Mobile could be offering similar packages to compete, but they don’t. If I didn’t have my T-Mobile voice and data plans tweaked to perfection, I might switch simply out of spite for their boring selection of last year’s phones.

T-Mobile, get a clue. Offer some mid-range, feature-rich phones with deals that are going to reel customers in. Just because AT&T has the iPhone doesn’t mean you need to give up completely!