A day that should have happened a week ago- on my birthday- but none-the-less today was better late than never- as they say.
You see, a week before my birthday Tom wanted to buy me an IPad. Since there is no local Apple Store and he hadn’t seen anything locally I the electronic stores, he purchased one online, through apple dot c a.
Closer to my Birthday he discovered a tiny glitch.
Apple had run out of IPads!!!
Go figure!
More were being made in China- Shenzhen China to be exact. The delivery date would not be until after my birthday.
Way after.
Delivery date was set for August 10th.
However all was not lost. As my actual birthday arrived and did open a Birthday gift- the case for the IPad which did arrive on time. Tom was still disappointed the IPad was late.
“Not to worry.”- I said,
“I hadn’t expected such a gift, so waiting a few extra days was no big whup!”
As the day progressed, we were both surprised to learn that the IPad was going to arrive a bit sooner that the tenth. I guess Apple kept those sweet kids working day and night just so I could get my IPad as soon after my birthday as possible. I would imagine they were encouraged to work overtime picking up a hefty penny for the extra hours worked- just for me and my IPad.
If you are wondering how we knew the IPad would arrive sooner that the 10th, these days when a package is delivered by courier, its trip is documented and tracked. That's why we knew that the “new” delivery date would be August 4th.
On Sunday August the 1st we learned that the IPad left Shenzhen, China and travelled the following route to reach Orillia- courtesy of FedEX:
Shenzhen China to Lantau Island, Hong Kong.
Then to Anchorage, Alaska.
Southeast to Indianapolis, Minnesota.
Then over to Mississauga, Ontario.
It sat in it’s packaging at the FedEx Facility all day long August 3rd waiting to clear Canada Customs. It left the FedEx facility in Mississauga on August 4 th travelling to Barrie. Finally, around noon, the FedEx truck pulled up in front of our house where I had been sitting on the front verandah since 8 o’clock in the morning.
I was afraid I would miss the delivery!
It was almost like the Apple Fanatics who line up outside Apple Stores for new IPhones as well as the IPad when it debuted. When the “Pad” arrived in the States on April 3rd, we were in Honolulu. We walked past the Apple Store on Kalakuala Avenue the following day and stepped inside. There was an IPad sitting there unused with a store full of kids and parents. The kids were running their fingers this way and that across the touch screens. How can they figure these things out so quickly?
Anyway, I quickly typed in www.swisssh.ca and touched the screen for the Swisssh Radio 64k player.
(By the way neither “flash players” nor “Windows Media Players” work)
Wow!
Neat!
There was Swisssh Radio playing in an Apple Store 9+ hours away from Orillia.
Forward to August 4th at 12 noon.
I quickly ran a knife down the centre of the scotch tape holding the box closed. A white box with a picture of the IPad on the front was carefully packed inside. I removed the cellophane and opened the box.
I took it out.
I was like a kid on Christmas morning!!
Yow! There it was all the way from China- and I wouldn’t shoot my eye out either.
It was an IPad after all not a Red Rider BB Gun!
I pulled on a pair of white cotton gloves. I was going to apply a protective screen over the touch screen and I didn’t want any dust or fresh fingerprints covering the face of the IPad. The screen protector would keep the screen clean, reduce glare and keep finger prints off the real screen underneath. The video I had watched on the Apple site said all I would have to do is turn it on and I would be set. I pushed the button and the screen glowed a brilliant blue with a beautiful backdrop of a mountain scene.
I had the WiFi working very quickly.
The 3G service from Rogers was a little more of a problem. When I realized I couldn’t connect to the 3G Network myself after filling in the required information on the IPad screen, I spent more than two hours talking to five people trying to determine the cause of my problem.
Alex from Apple Canada- who was in Price Edward Island, was tremendous.
He was patient.
He answered my questions and took me through the set-up process all over again. When the network still wouldn’t connect he contacted a “data specialist” at Rogers in Toronto- Chris was his name, who guided me through another process and got me up and running on the Rogers 3G Network. Chris answered all my questions calmly, clearly and to the best of his knowledge. It was a long two hours but I had confidence that between Alex at Apple Canada and Chris at Rogers in Toronto, my IPad would spring to life on the 3G Network.
The adventure is not over. I suppose as time goes by I will become more proficient with the various apps.
I still have plenty to learn and discover with the IPad but so far I am pleased with what I see. I will be able to take Swisssh Radio and the Website with me wherever I go and let people see first hand how easy it is to listen to an Internet Radio Station. I can even hear it through the sound system in the Swissshmobile.
Now that’s exciting!
Have a great day!
