Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Just got my iPhone 4 - first impressions
I just got my iPhone 4, along with two "bumper" cases. They're not really cases, but that was all that was available...
First impressions:
First impressions:
- The speakerphone is MUCH louder (and therefore better)
- The screen ("retina display") is absolutely phenomenal, but... it looks funny through my polarized Ray-Ban sunglasses. This WILL grind on me, and unfortunately I'll probably end up buying some new sunglasses.
- It's MUCH faster to do everything.
- The camera is quite improved, although I think the digital "zoom" is worthless.
- FaceTime is great. I only know one person who has an iPhone 4, so the value of this feature is minimal for now.
- It feels solid, but so did prior generations.
- No rugged cases are available yet, and the nearby Apple and AT&T stores are sold out of most iPhone cases in general. I've been using an Otterbox Defender case, which has a holster clip. Until they (or another company) come out with something, I'm stuck with the bumper, and then putting it in a generic (sideways) holster pouch.
- Internet Tethering will require that I give up my "unlimited" data plan... I'm not going to do it yet, since I haven't had much use for that anyway.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Senators propose granting president emergency Internet power
Really? Is giving Obama (or any one person) a "kill switch" for the internet a good idea?
Senators propose granting president emergency Internet power | Politics and Law - CNET News
Senators propose granting president emergency Internet power | Politics and Law - CNET News
Thursday, June 17, 2010
AT&T borked the iPhone 4 pre-orders
As you may be aware, AT&T's servers were not ready for the massive demand for the iPhone 4.
Like a good fanboy, I was all ready to pre-order an iPhone 4 on the morning of June 15th. I started on Apple's Online Store, and noticed that it kept hanging when it would try to verify my eligibility for the upgrade. So after about 50 attempts (and re-entering my info that many times), I figured it was worth trying to do it on AT&T's site. After about 20 attempts, it appeared to go through. Or so I thought.
Because I was doing so much at once, right after the order went through, my browser crashed. This prevented me from printing the order confirmation. So I had no order number, no confirmation of any kind. I only remembered seeing "Thank you for your order."
Because I didn't trust the way it happened, I decided to try the Apple Online Store again. After about 4 attempts, that worked as well. Unfortunately, by that point it was saying that pre-orders would be delivered by July 2 as opposed to June 24. :( Of course, if both orders go through, that means I'll have spent around $700 after taxes as opposed to $350. :(
I got an email confirmation from Apple almost immediately, but nothing from AT&T. I therefore resigned myself to having to wait another 2 weeks. I also assumed that the AT&T order just didn't go through. Later in the day I got an email from AT&T saying there was a problem with the credit card, and that the order would be canceled if they didn't get new/correct credit card info. I called the number in the email and waited 35 minutes on hold before the system told me basically "sorry, we're too busy, call back later". I tried several times after that, for a grand total of about an hour-and-a-half on hold. This morning I actually got through - to a human being!
There's nothing wrong with the card - it's a debit card and the balance is more than sufficient for this purchase. However, for some reason their system kept rejecting it. So I gave the rep my business debit card, which worked. She told me that from what she could see on the system, it looked like my order would in fact arrive on June 24. I thanked her and hung up.
So now I just wait and see. Will I receive an iPhone 4 from AT&T on June 24? Will Apple send me one on July 2? Will I end up with two? Time will tell.
Like a good fanboy, I was all ready to pre-order an iPhone 4 on the morning of June 15th. I started on Apple's Online Store, and noticed that it kept hanging when it would try to verify my eligibility for the upgrade. So after about 50 attempts (and re-entering my info that many times), I figured it was worth trying to do it on AT&T's site. After about 20 attempts, it appeared to go through. Or so I thought.
Because I was doing so much at once, right after the order went through, my browser crashed. This prevented me from printing the order confirmation. So I had no order number, no confirmation of any kind. I only remembered seeing "Thank you for your order."
Because I didn't trust the way it happened, I decided to try the Apple Online Store again. After about 4 attempts, that worked as well. Unfortunately, by that point it was saying that pre-orders would be delivered by July 2 as opposed to June 24. :( Of course, if both orders go through, that means I'll have spent around $700 after taxes as opposed to $350. :(
I got an email confirmation from Apple almost immediately, but nothing from AT&T. I therefore resigned myself to having to wait another 2 weeks. I also assumed that the AT&T order just didn't go through. Later in the day I got an email from AT&T saying there was a problem with the credit card, and that the order would be canceled if they didn't get new/correct credit card info. I called the number in the email and waited 35 minutes on hold before the system told me basically "sorry, we're too busy, call back later". I tried several times after that, for a grand total of about an hour-and-a-half on hold. This morning I actually got through - to a human being!
There's nothing wrong with the card - it's a debit card and the balance is more than sufficient for this purchase. However, for some reason their system kept rejecting it. So I gave the rep my business debit card, which worked. She told me that from what she could see on the system, it looked like my order would in fact arrive on June 24. I thanked her and hung up.
So now I just wait and see. Will I receive an iPhone 4 from AT&T on June 24? Will Apple send me one on July 2? Will I end up with two? Time will tell.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Gary Coleman
Like Michael Jackson, this guy was exploited by everyone around him from an early age. Even in his 40's, he was surrounded by people who didn't really give a damn. Even after his death, the jackals continue to feed - his ex-wife sold this picture of Gary on his deathbed to the Globe "Magazine":
Picture source: http://www.globemagazine.com/story/511
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