Done with liveblogging the iPhone 2.0

Done, kinda. I tried to complete the activation in the store, but iTunes timed out on both phones. I'll have to activate them myself today.
...And now it's off to work.
/end liveblog

Almost there

Both phones are activated with AT&T and we're ready to plug them into iTunes and complete the activation.

We're good to go

My military discount was holding up the activation. We killed the discount for now and Sarema's phone is getting activated currently.

Doh! Now I'm the problem

The AT&T system is not looking up my account number for some reason. We're calling AT&T support. Seems like the system is overwhelmed.
So much for "Magically Delicious" activation.
Hunter is melting down, so Sarema is punching out to take him to preschool.

We're in!

40 min late, but we're in.

Gah!

8:30 and we're still stuck outside the store. One of the guys next to me used his first-gen iPhone to check the internet news: it's apple-wide problem with iTunes.

WTF, over?

"Technical difficulties" are preventing the store from opening. The manager came out to say she was working on it. I wonder if this problem is isolated to the store or is apple-wide?
Arghh. It's already 10 minutes past opening time.

Line Count

50 people in line now. The store manager just counted. Lots of apple fans here now.

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Cool people at the store

The store manager and about 15 employees just came out to visit with us in line. The brought bottled water, starbucks coffee, and most important: demo 3G iphones to play around with. I got all my questions answered and got to play with a 16GB (white) iPhone for a few minutes. I'm caving in and buying a 16GB phone for both Sarema and me.
We're up to 35 people in line as of 0630. 90 minutes to go until the store opens...
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More fitful than restful

I awoke to a line that has grown to a little more than 20 people. Like a lot of things, sleeping on a sidewalk sounds more fun than it real was. I brought my trusty earplugs, but even those didn't keep out all the sounds of folks around me for the 3 hours of fitful sleep I got.
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Company

Three guys (two of which are off-duty cops) have just showed up with their folding chairs and have quadrupled the size of the line. I'm busting out my sleeping bag now and am surprised that apple employees are still bustling about in the store at 2:30am. I spoke with an apple guy on his smoke break a while ago and he said that the line for the original iphone was around the block when they released it. Now to grab some z's before dawn.
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Cops and Drunks

...the only two kinds of people out in downtown SLO at this hour.
I'm trying to be unobtrusive, sitting on the side street entrance, but I'm still getting some looks. A few folks, including two bike cops, have asked, "First one in line, huh?" I know what they're thinking, though... it's not admiration for my dedication to the latest technology, it's "Dork."
Some drunk guy with his drunk girlfriend just walked by, too, and struck up a mini conversation with The First Dude In Line (as I guess I'm known now). Funny how hot girls seeing me sitting here at the head of the line amplify my feelings of dorkiness...
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No secret midnight release

I was hoping that there was going to be some secret, unadvertised midnight store opening to sell iPhones so I could buy my two and go home to bed, but no such luck. The store is locked up tight but the lights are on inside.
At least I'm not the only one out here... I can hear the apple employees scurrying around in the store getting ready for the early launch tomorrow morning. There's a big black curtain strung up in the front of the store that prevents me from seeing exactly what they're up to, though.
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Liveblogging the iPhone 2.0 release - at the head of the line

I loaded up my campstool, sleeping bag, and iPod and headed for the Apple store in downtown SLO at about 11:45pm tonite. On the way, I drove by the only other place in the county that will sell the iPhone tomorrow morning at 8am, the AT&T store, to see if there was anybody in line; there were three full sleeping bags sacked out in front of the door). I kept on driving.
Expecting to see a larger line here at the Apple store, I was surprised to be the first person here. So, here I sit, at the front of the line in our little town's Apple store. I'm a nerd, but at least I'm the king of the nerds for now.

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