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I grew up idolizing Steve Jobs. I admit it. He is an inventive genius whose contributions have shaped the course of world technology. He has no peer in his field. On top of that, his keynote addresses have long been held up as an example of how to make a technical presentation. Again, who bests him in this area? This is the Steve I have revered for years. But the iPhone 4 and his handling of the blow back, have me wondering what happened to that Steve of yore.
He approved a typically lovely graphical user interface (GUI) and hardware touted for its sharp industrial design. Very Apple. But he also allowed (or as Bloomberg puports ignored the warnings of) his engineers to make a ridiculous error in placing the antenna where it had to come into contact with the users hand, which would attenuate (screw up) the signal. To compound that the hot zone was placed exactly where nearly every user and every one, including Steve, that Apple portrayed using the phone, would hold it. Not cool. Not Apple. Where is my inventive genius?
In response to what some have called Antennagate, Steve made a defense. They do it, too. He correctly pointed out that other manufacturers also have hot spots. He just neglected to point out that they didn’t blatantly place them in a position that they would routinely come into play.
Continue reading Steve, Where Are You?
Steve Jobs has completed his keynote address. It sounds like the iPhone 4 is going to be a solid competitor with the HTC EVO 4G. The video chat will require a wireless connection for now but Qik and Sprint found out that supporting this over the air was an overwhelming challenge so it is hard to [...]
AT&T Data Plan Changes
Two days before at&t raised their smart phone early termination fee (ETF), I cancelled my contract with at&t. There were just too many places where I couldn’t get service. I have since been suffering terribly from iPhone withdrawal. However, I have a sense of freedom similar to that an abused spouse must have when they finally pull away from the house with all their stuff loaded in the car. Good-bye at&t. Looks like that happened just in time. If I wanted to finally enjoy tethering on my iPhone, I would have to have given up my unlimited data plan. Previously my data was only limited by the fact that at&t’s 3G service was so hard to find. Now, there is a “reward” for finally getting tethering or just buying an iPhone, as Gizmodo put it, “AT&TJust Killed Unlimited Wireless Data (and Screwed Everybody in the Process)”. The iPhone blog noted that the $29.99 plan given to the original iPad 3G purchasers will not be available to new users. However, the unlimited plan is still good available this weekend. After answering the question, “How Much Video Can You Actually Stream With AT&T’s New Data Plans?“, Gizmodo suggests “Run, don’t walk, to get your iPad 3G before the end of the weekend.” (Joy has the wi-fi iPad and we use a mobile hotspot when we don’t have wireless access.)
Continue reading A Week for Geeks 2
There were a lot of stories that caught my eye this week. I’ve already touched on the Facebook Fiasco. But, there was a lot more changing in our ever shifting geek landscape.
Google Buzz
Led by preeminent techies like Leo LaPorte and Gina Trapani, the rats jumping the Facebook ship seem to be giving Google’s ill-started but currently excellent Buzz service new life. Here is the buzz about Buzz. Google Buzz Expands: Now on all Mobiles and ReBuzzing » TECH BOTTLE. Now even the huge number of people clinging to their Blackberries can use Google Buzz on their mobile phones. Welcome aboard. What does the corporate world buzz about? Maybe now we’ll find out. Google Buzz Adds Rebuzz Feature — But Don’t Call It That, That’s Lame. Buzz-ers are no longer limited to “Like” and “Share”. TechCrunch reports that now, we can re-share, too. I’m not sure how this will work. Getting multiple 140 character re-tweets is a lot less annoying than multiple unlimited reshares of articles. I hope those I follow will be kind and use links to longer articles they wish to share.
So, you’re probably wondering, “Is this guy a lousy stinking liar?”
Yes, I did post that I would pass on the iPad, but now we own one. Well, actually my wife owns one. Two weeks ago her netbook died. I had every intention of waiting until the Slate came out to get her one of those as [...]
 Maybe my wife hates me. Maybe she hated hearing me boast about how my iPhone has this app or that one. Maybe she got tired of hearing me say, “Oh, let me tell you the answer to your question” as I Googled the topics at parties. (Oh, yeah, I’m definitely the geekiest guy there.) So she took her perfectly good LG enV3 and washed it in the washing machine. Then she went out and bought the phone I would have bought if I didn’t have this AT&T contract around my neck. She bought the Droid Eris.
Now, she is the one spouting off about how the house we just passed is selling for X-dollars (HotPads) or she just got an email from one of our kids while I’m driving us to church. And, unlike my iPhone, she can watch internet TV streaming from TV.com or from NBC.com. Even Apple’s computers choke on flash video according to Steve Jobs, who says it is one of the main reasons that his company’s computers crash. But, that is only about 75% of internet video so it’s no big deal.
Continue reading Droid Eris, Quit Smirking at Me
 If you are anything like me, when you hit Google reader this morning, most of the posts were about Jobs’ new iPad Kindle Killer. Yes, I love my iPhone (sorry AT&T none of that bleeds over to you). But I am not an Apple worshipper or hater. I guess you could say I am an Apple agnostic who avoids the endless forum Apple versus PC debates . As a gadget freak I have been watching the pre-release hype quite closely and was anxious to see this magical and revolutionary product. Well, I haven’t seen one so I’m only addressing specs not experience. (Hence “speaking from ignorance.”)
My first impression is pretty much in line with my previous posts about iTunes. The iPad is great for those who wish to shop only at the company store. Publishers are excited about being able to charge more than the $9.99 they get from Amazon according to the interview I heard on NPR this morning. Are you excited about paying more? You’ll pay twice as much for the iPad versus the Kindle to get color ebooks, a larger screen, and more interactivity. Of course, that interactivity will be crippled by the lack of flash support.
Can a device be magical and revolutionary but not even support USB or SD cards? For crying out loud, even Sony finally gave up and started moving to SD cards because they are the people’s choice. Continue reading Speaking from Ignorance – Kindle Killer?
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About LSS LSS is a nuts and bolts blog. Written by a geek who loves God, this journal reports my quest for technical perfection, environmental and social justice, and venting whatever else is going through my little pea-pickin' brain at the moment.
If you poke around a little, I'm sure you can find something to tick you off, but you might just find something that helps you, too. The former I consider collateral damage and the latter is my hope.
I'm not afraid of or offended by contrary opionions so I hope you'll use the comments to encourage, challenge, and inform myself and my readers. Thanks for visiting and don't forget to subscribe before you leave.
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