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Apple Hires Antenna Engineers. Really.
kangsterizer writes "Sometimes, news items are just about a good laugh. You may or may not like Apple, but the way it has been handling its antenna issue has been like a small tech soap opera — Steve Jobs, the CEO, saying 'not to hold the phone that way,' rumors of software issues, and the latest but most crunchy part, since the antenna issue has been widely discovered, on 23 June, several 'antenna engineer' positions opened up at Apple. Seems someone got fired:
Antenna engineer job position 1,
Antenna engineer job position 2,
Antenna engineer job position 3."
I just figure they did all their testing in California, where AT&T dropping calls is as common as $4 coffees.
Why is peoples' immediate reaction to this list so negative? You'd struggle to find a company giving this level of advice to their customer service reps to help customers deal with a specific issue. I've phoned numerous customer service numbers and never experienced the level of product knowledge and satisfaction that I have with Apple. I've recently had the hard drive, bottom case and battery all replaced for free on my three-year-old MacBook without any fuss and after dealing with reps who knew exactly what I was talking about.
They'll need to fix this problem, and it sucks that you're not getting a free bumper (as it always does when you don't get free stuff), but at least as a result of this memo you're getting immediate correct advice as to what you're going to get from Apple as a result of this issue.
"If you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all"
Your fault for not keeping copies of your timecards.
I ALWAYS keep copies and am ready to run my employer over with a bus.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
The funny thing about it is that their sales probably wouldn't take a hit if this problem was know before they went on sale, most people don't purchase the iphone for it's functionality, it is simply an accessory / status symbol and the fact that it doesn't work in certain circumstances doesn't change it's "coolness", heck showing your friends how your phone doesn't work increases your coolness.
Knowledge = Power
P= W/t
t=Money
Money = Work/Knowledge so the less you know the more you make
+5 Interesting, really?
Here, read this actually interesting article on the subject:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3794/the-iphone-4-review/2
Now, based on the conclusions of overall improved reception and signal quality, in spite of the flaws, can you seriously say that "at no time was an actual engineer in this area consulted"? You really believe that the marketing department designed an RF antenna that worked well and improved signal quality under most circumstances without any consultation with actual engineers?
More likely, like any other engineering endeavor designed for used in the real world, trade-offs had to be considered. And like many other first-generation designs, flaws related to these trade-offs surfaced after implementation.
I would say that hte most likely scenario was that after the Gawker incident, Apple's preferred time-line for release was compromised, and they were forced to release earlier than intended; possibly limiting their real-world testing capabilities.
-dZ.
Carol vs. Ghost
"I wonder if this is Apple's secrecy coming to bite them in the ass."
No, bars don't mix with secrecy!
Gizmodo bought a brand new _prototype_ from someone who found it in a bar's bathroom next to some rolled dollar bills and pocket mirrors.
Here was the Gizmodo scoop from some months ago http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HAXXs4bZuk
Apple need to kick quite a lot of asses. Who's up next?