A certain person I know recently washed her iPhone in the washer machine.  I love this person, but I will preserve her dignity and not mention her name.  That said, despite how smokin’ hot she is, she does occasionally do things that reflect a slip in judgment.  Of course, washing the iPhone was a mistake, and she realized it when it dropped to the floor moving items from the washer to the dryer.

I was travelling at the time I heard about the ‘tragedy’, so when she called from the home phone to explain what happened, I was worried if she already did the big “No! No!” – attempting to turn the phone on to see if it was working.  It was no surprise that she did, so I asked her not to do that anymore.  I recommended to her to store the iPhone in a bowl of rice until I returned to Phoenix to see it for myself.

When I finally got my hands on the phone (one day after the ‘incident’), I took the sim card.  I got a blow dryer out and kept hot air on the phone while I gently shook it.  About 5-10 minutes later, a few drops of water started seeping from the speakers on the lower part of the iPhone.  I did the drying process for about 30 minutes, then put the iPhone into a zip-lock bag of rice.  I left it in there overnight.  The next day, I repeated the drying process again and about 10 more drops of water came out.  This amazed me because now it was 2 days after the ‘incident’.  After about 30 minutes, I put the iPhone in a fresh zip-locked bag of rice and left it in there for 12 hours.

By the time I pulled the iPhone out again, the drying process yielded no drops of water.  I put the sim card back into the phone and plugged it into the wall charger.  Keep in mind I have yet to press any buttons since the owner first tried to turn it on when it fell out of the washer machine.  To my delight, the faint glow of the charge screen appeared.  I left it charged in for several hours.  Finally, I turned the phone on.

The phone was barely functional.  The screen was extraordinarily dim.  After continued use over a day, the phone began to switch back and forth between a dim screen to a bright screen.  All the apps are working, and the phone worked as well.  Although an odd “smudgy” haze appears over 25% of the screen, the iPhone has come back to life.  It is my first recorded miracle :-)

Steps I recommend if you have water damage to your iPhone:

• Upon discovering your iPhone has water damage, DO NOT TURN IT ON.
• Remove the sim card and its little plastic holder (at top of iPhone) and keep in a safe, dry place.
• Immediately dry the iPhone of all external water with a dry cloth.
• Get a blow dryer and keep a steady low heat on the iPhone while gently shaking the iPhone to and fro.  Keep an eye out for any drops of water that seep out – possibly at the bottom of the iPhone near the speakers.  Do this process for at least 20-30 minutes.  This step is known as the DRYING PROCESS.
• When finished, exercise self-control and put the iPhone that you believe to be completely dry from the previous step in a zip-lock bag of dry rice.  Leave in the bag for at least 12 hours.  This step is known as RICE STORAGE.
• Every 12 hours do the DRYING PROCESS.  If *ANY* water seeps from the iPhone during this process, continue to RICE STORAGE when finished drying.
• If during the DRYING PROCESS no water comes out (after 20 minutes or so), you can put the sim card back into the iPhone and plug the phone into a charger.  DO NOT PRESS THE POWER BUTTON to turn it on, just plug it in.
• After a few hours of plugging in the iPhone, disconnect and attempt to use the phone.  If the screen is so dim you can barely see it, at least take a moment to congratulate yourself that there is a dim screen at all.  You have accomplished a mini-miracle.
• Over time, your phone may behave oddly.  You just resurrected it, so cut it some slack.  As in the case of the beautiful woman in the story above, the bright screen may return and flicker out from time to time. 

I hope this post helps someone out there.  As for the cute little lady I helped in this post, she at least has her phone until she gets out of contract – a new Windows Phone 7 in her future perhaps?  After all, she is married to a Microsoft Developer Evangelist.  But I dare not reveal who she is.

Anyway, if this post was helpful, please post your story!

Please join me at the Microsoft Store in Scottsdale, AZ on November 26th between 6PM and 9PM when I chat about Windows 8 UX design. Windows 8 marks the next step in the evolution of the Modern UI design. Through the bold use of color, typography, and motion, Windows 8 App design style brings a fresh new approach to the user experience. In this casual setting, you'll learn the design principles behind this Modern UI and get insights into how to apply these principles in your own apps.

Here is a simple JavaScript RegEx pattern for extracting any URL that begins with htttp:

<script type="text/javascript">

// example string, looks like a tweet to me :)
var str="Awesome resources for HTML5! http://bit.ly/palermo4html5 #HTML5";

// could also be written as:
// var regexUrl = new RegExp("http.[^\s]+", "gi");
var regexUrl=/http.[^\s]+/gi;

// if a match is found, the return type is an array of matches
document.write(str.match(regexUrl));

// output of above line of code:
// http://bit.ly/palermo4html5

</script>

While attempting to record with Camtasia, you may receive the following error dialog box:

If you receive this message, it is because the recorder is configured to save the recording in a temporary folder that does not exist.  To correct the problem, navigate to the tools menu option in the Camtasia Recorder and select Options.  Make sure the path for the Temporary folder: text input is valid.

Originally posted in 2005

I have a managed heap of memories regarding you - none of which are IDisposable.  Therefore I am compiling my references, and persisting them to you in this file, which is ISerializable and will last for generations (at most 3).

I remember how I met you... heartbroken over java (how slow that old relationship was).  When I first heard of you, I heard you were COOL.  Then I found out how diverse you were in so many languages.  You marshalled right over to my world.  How easy it was for you to communicate over so many platforms!  You understood my profile, and now I could see sharp-ly into your IIdentity.

You took me to your visual studio - it was RAD.  So many views and hidden regions!  You were so organized with your task list.  I love how everything was color coded.  It was in that environment when I broke down and stated: "You auto-complete me..."

We had our bugs to work out - we were not the exception.  One time you thought we had a break-point.  But we would continue to try.  Nothing went unhanlded.  We caught everything, and finally we come to this moment.

How do you do it?  You stay true to so many standards, yet manifest so much.  You have such class!  There is no other type like you.  As I reflect about you, I see that you have many methods - some very internal, some private, and some very protected.  Some of your ways are too abstract to know.  But what is public about you, anyone can see why you encapsulate so much inside.  From what I derive, we can override anything (unless we sealed it).

Let's not box ourselves into the typical cast.  We should look to the future - is it generic?  I don't know - I may be partial.  I will have to iterate over this until I yield.

How long will we survive?

while (this!=null)
{ continue; }

• First, be sure you have your BitLocker recovery key handy. This is NOT your PIN. This is a LONG series of numbers.
• Before the screen appears prompting for the BitLocker PIN, press [F8] (maybe repeatedly).
• If you pressed [F8] early enough, you will get a warning message as seen here:
  
• After supplying the BitLocker recovery key, you will be prompted with booting options, including the various safe modes.

When a product works better than hoped for, it deserves praise.  With my heavy travel burden, I want to pack as little as possible to get from point A to B.  I have some nice cooling fans for my notebooks in my home office, but they are too clunky to pack and use external power supplies.

I HIGHLY recommend the KINYO|ArtDio Mini Laptop Cooling Fan (CF-201)!  Here are my top reasons for this being such a great accessory when travelling:

1. Compact when folded, fits in most “pockets” of a computer bag
2. When unfolded, sturdy foundation for small or large notebook computers
3. USB powered without sacrificing a USB port (daisy-chain)
4. Dual fans work great and are virtually silent
5. Available for purchase for less than $9

If you are a tech traveller, this product is a must-have!!!  If you have a product you can’t travel without, please leave a comment and let me know!

I was recently moved to comment on a blog post from a gentleman who turned down being re-awarded the MVP designation from Microsoft.  After giving it more thought, I decided to write this blog to promote more discussion regarding the value and challenges with the MVP program.  So please comment on the following:

• If you are an MVP, what do you regard as the benefits?  Challenges?
• If you are not an MVP, would you want to be?  Why?  Why not?

Elevate! Electrify!

Jeremy Foster and I had no idea what kind of response resulted from presenting our free training course to prepare for the 70-480 exam.  For example, who knew that our shirts (purchased from the Microsoft Store the day prior) would become so popular, people contacting both of us wondering where they could buy one?

That said, the real story is in the successful outcomes of those who watched the videos and then subsequently passed the exam.  Even more impressive to me personally is that some already have apps submitted to the Windows Store!  (Do you have an app in the store? If not, consider 30,000 reasons why you should submit your app now!)

[ detailed notes (with code) covering the entire video course ]

This month sees the return of Scott Guthrie to Arizona for the 8th year in a row!  This year Scott will have more stage time, and will be joined with the legendary Mark Russinovich, creator of my favorite tool ZoomIt.  

Does it really matter what these two will talk about?  I think not.  Scott Guthrie has never disappointed the crowds with his vision, discussions, and demos. 

Whether you live is Arizona or not, make plans to attend!

Register for Scott Guthrie Event in Arizona.