Business travel and the iPhone
As I mentioned earlier I love my iPhone. One of the many features I use is the iPod video capability while traveling. Commercial air travel can be brutal but having a device you can load lots of video content to will make the trip a bit less painful. The form factor of the iPhone is easier on an airplane compared to trying to watch video on a laptop. Currently I have about 12 hours of video on mine including three Nova programs from PBS, the FDR series from WGBH, three episodes of Married with Children, a history of NASA DVD and an iTunes u web lecture from MIT. Even with that, a large music library and photos I have taken I still have ample capacity.
The TV programs recorded on the DVR are burned to a DVD in standard format. I use Handbrake to rip them. The latest version rips directly to iPod/iPhone format and are able to be directly imported to Itunes.
During my most recent trip Google Maps was a lifesaver as I didn’t know my way around Minneapolis and who wants to get lost when the temperature is near zero.
The genius of this device is the notion of a general purpose “platform” with capabilities that continue to be added with software updates.