Re:AT&T Math? Misleading advertising?
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All Things iPhone
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· Score: 1
Can you explain why you can't do skype+wireless? I'm curious, because I'm counting on every limitation the iPhone supposedly has to be easily circumventable via the built in browser and web-apps. Thanks.
Yeah, a memento mori is probably the worst article I've read in awhile. Talk about living in an alternate universe (and getting paid to write about what you don't know!). Although the first mighty mouse has only been released lately, I've been using 2,4,8 whatever-button mouses on Macs since, what, OS 7.6, circa 1995? Hell it might have been even earlier than that. I don't buy Macs for the bundled mouse. Nor do I buy PCs for the mouse that they come with. Logitech makes some pretty nice input devices for around $50 that work with Macs (on a couple of times even better on my Mac, as my PC had problems identifying the USB port back in the early days of PC and USB).
The ROKR? That's all you got? Come on, any moron can see that that is a Motorola phone with a weak attempt to paint an Apple logo on the side. It probably had more to do with the Apple/Motorola fall out and tying up any loose business ends before they cut ties with each other.
When is the last time you've seen an iMac? That question alone should get the author fired. Well, I'm typing on a 20" Intel iMac as we speak. It is my first iMac, because I never saw the allure of a transparent bowling ball on my desktop, nor a white platic lamp. Also, it is only as of recently that computers have slowed down enough for me to be comfortable with an all-in-one. I'm still cruising with a 1999 G4 and have never upgraded anything (other than a cpu speed bump up to 800 from 350). Why pay for the "upgradability" if my recent past shows I don't upgrade?
The author could have at least said the clam-shell iBooks were a flop, based on the logic of poor sales. Didn't only 13 year old girls buy those things?
I don't recall the Newton being a flop either. I recall lawyers and doctors loving the thing, and Apple not being able to make enough of them. Just because average Joe consumer doesn't buy something (too expensive for them) doesn't make it a flop. There are some circles (albeit small) that still laud the capabilities of that thing. A better FLOP example would be those eBook school computer thingies they were trying to push on everyone (foget what they are called, you know..the ones with the mono green screens in an era of cheap and easy 32-bit color?)
The Cube can be classified as a flop, only because it was poorly designed and overheated. Sales figures were based more in its propensity to incinerate its self moreso than the high price tag. The high price tag is bunk because people where buying $3000 Powerbooks left and right (myself included).
Eworld was bundled with Performas. No surpise that it faded out, because dial-up one-stop Internet points like AOL and Prodigy were also dying out at the same time. Apple didn't see the point in continuing an outdated Internet access model.
Here's an Apple flop for you..their QuickTake digital cameras. Those things were expensive and not suitable for the target market of creative professionals.
Well, that solves that mystery for me. The only thing I could find (since I live in England and don't really know what's going on in the States) is that Austin has 3G through Verizon. That works for me. So Apple leaving that out is a bit of a problem. The only thing I can think of why Apple has done this, is they started the iPhone development when 3G coverage was in the "100 networks worldwide" phase, and got too far into the design to add 3G without a substantial delay in release. Looks like I'll be waiting for 2.0, since I plan on using it more for the web and as a mobile media device than I will a phone anyway.
You might not think highly of the BlackJack, but given the sheer amount of posts that praise its low price and its purported ability to do everything the iPhone does, I would say others really like it. Looks like a pile of crap to me. If you think BlackBerry runs circles around it, then at least that gives me a frame of reference (I don't like our work BlackBerries at all, but maybe that's because they are US Government issued ones...the private market might have better models?)
Sorry to say, I was projecting the 30-second estimate at you. My relationship with my wife is just fine, yet for some reason, I feel no need to share that with anyone on/. Enjoy your "feeling good for hours" while it lasts. Someday you'll grow up.
My mistake. The phone next to the Blackberry, the Samsung BlackJack, only has one carrier (AT&T). It also comes with all the shortcomings of every smart phone on the market today, topped off with a nice serving of Windows Mobile...yumm.
It isn't anti-competitive, because Apple isn't the dominant player. I simply stated that Microsoft is trying to copy the succesful formula that has allowed Apple to get such a huge market share but Microsoft misses the point that, in ADDITION to Apple's proprietary file format, the iPod and iTunes experience contributes greatly to the success. Microsoft is trying to throw a stinker product (Zune) with a stinker marketplace at users, and force them to be locked in to something they probably won't like but can't get out of, whereas most people buy iPods and use iTunes because they actually like it. It isn't just the fact that Apple is MAKING people, through a 95% OS market share like Microsoft, use iTunes or iPods. And for the record, the iTunes store doesn't deal in the "MP3 business", so they can't be a monopoly. You say iPods and iTunes suck "badly technically", so feel free to back that up if you like.
Your dismissive attitude about the iPod's success ("brand" and "ecosystem") discredits the rest of your post.
Pick up any of today's portable media players - Creative, iRiver, or maybe even the Zune. You'll find that they offer functionality and usability that's very, very similar to the iPod.
If I can stop laughing long enough to continue....
You might also find a few surprising things - like a device that doesn't have bullshit "do not disconnect" periods where it can become corrupted,
I've ignored that warning for years now and have never lost an ounce of data on any one of my 5 past or current iPods. Isn't the iPod an actual mountable and bootable drive, thus explaining the "do not disconnect" warning? Do the other players you mention offer such "similar" features? Maybe they do, I'm just askin'.
a device that lets you sync with multiple computers,
Well, again, all of my iPods sync with all five of my computers (3 macs and 2 pcs) and (on the Macs) with both my user account and my wife's user account. I believe you are mistaking the inability to sync with multiple computers with the inability to sync with multiple iTunes accounts. Unless of course you are referring to the 5-computer DRM limit? Technically, there is no 5-computer limit if you purchase DRM free tracks (or rip your own songs altogether) and even then, you deactivate a computer when you will no longer be using it for iTunes. I don't know anybody that has more than 5 computers AND needs music purchased from the iTunes store on all of them at the same time. There is no limit to the number of iPods you can put your DRM'd music on, either.
a device that lets you copy tracks back to your PC,
Senuti for Mac. PC variants are available too. It takes about 30 seconds to google (or save some time and surf over to ilounge.com), and another 2 minutes for download and install. But then again, if you actually used an iPod, you would probably already know about these resources.
Ok, so no open video standard like XVID, but there are plenty of 3rd party apps that convert most video formats to the iPod format. If you look at torrent sites, you'll see plenty of non-iTunes available tv shows available in iPod format, so obviously SOMEBODY has figured out how to convert XVID (and other formats) to iPod.
Also, why do you assume the iPhone will not have games or IM? Have you used an iPhone yet? It runs some form of OS X, so why couldn't it be able to run simple executable files? My video iPod plays games, and this is a video iPod too. Since the thing has a web browser, what would keep me from running web-based applications? A little optimism would be nice. If you find that hard, then maybe you could just wait until the thing is actually available and see how long it takes for the 3rd party apps to start flowing. Since I don't know you from Joe Schmoe, I'm inclined to give Apple the benefit of the doubt (based on their track record of successful consumer electronics) over some random dude's rant on the 'net.
I really don't like posts like yours that are just full of bias and projection. If you like your iRiver or your Zune, then good for you. Please don't try and tell us that your iRiver is somehow a better device because it supports open formats when it is nearly universally accepted that the iPod is a superior electronic device in nearly every way. And for crying out loud, don't for one second think that just because the iPhone lacks features YOU want, that it will be a horrible product that nobody with half a brain would ever consider buying.
Apple has ensured that you don't have to sign a contract to buy the iPhone, so there's no cancellation fee!
Where did you hear this? Apple posted on their web site the price for the three subsription plans, and announced the early cancel fee is $175. Are you just arguing semantics (contract vs. subscription plan)?
Shit, I'm married, so I can have sex whenever I like, and sometimes with my wife! But I can't get an iPhone in England. At this point, the iPhone is more desirable, because I can't have it. So good for "Bob" and her "orgasms". One day, he/she might grow up and realize there is much more to life than his/her 30 seconds of bliss.
I guess I'm lucky. I'm STILL using the first AGP G4 tower (the hard to find 350mhz one) that I bought in 1999 (unless you consider the slate ones to be 2nd generation to the blue ones?). I have a core solo Intel MacBook with no mooing noises, doesn't spontaneously reboot, and has just a smidge of plastic discoloration (that occured immediately but hasn't progressed). I recall my late 90s "Wallstreet" Powerboook to have been one of the best laptops I've ever owned (relative to the other offerings of the time). Ok, so I didn't buy a cube, even though I wanted one. I would buy an iPhone if it weren't for the fact that I hate mobile phones (more the users than the phones themselves). If I spent even $50 on a cell phone, I would only be kidding myself with an inflated sense of self worth. Unless you are in sales, most of you don't need a phone nearly as badly as you think you do.
Would someone please cite how much 3G coverage there really is? I checked a couple of months ago, and could only find a wiki entry stating something like 100 3G networks WORLDWIDE, and even then, most of them are not in the US. Granted, this data is from 2005, and since I live overseas, I don't know how fast US markets have expanded into 3G. My hometown of Austin, TX has it now, but that would be expected from one of the technology hubs of the US economy.
So which is it? "90% of all Americans have access to 3G" (dubious), or "there are only 100 3G networks worldwide, most of them NOT in the US".
The iPhone may not be the first, but based on the comparison in the article, it is the ONLY device that does several things (and does them well, seemingly). Namely, the other devices lack Wifi altogether. Blackberries may be great and all, but according to TFA, it uses the same slow EDGE network, only one carrier, and no Wifi. Not to mention a hokey mini-os that lacks the capabilities of the fully function desktop OS underpinnings of the iPhone.
Kicking windows habit is a good thing, and the EULA is about circumventing the DRM, which we both stated. I'm not sure we disagre enough to warrant much discussion;-) The DRM in Vista, and especially the Zune player and marketplace, is anti-competitive, and Microsoft's weak attempt to copy the iTunes+iPod business model. It has workded for MS before, but this time, they are a day late and a dollar short. Apple can get away with it, but if MS does it, it is anti-competitive, given their huge marketshare in the field of OSes. The other bad thing about VM for MS is that it opens people's eyes to the fact they don't have to use Windows (as we've both stated), and the more people realize they have a choice, the more people switch. MS fears the snowball effect, which is the exact opposite phenomena that built up windows (the concept that everyone thinks they have to have Windows because of work, so they buy Windows at home, and their friends buy windows, because everyone else has windows, and our parents buy windows, because they don't know anything about computers, etc.).
Boot camp. I just installed the 15 day Parallels trial, but so far I can't get a single 3D game to work (even though the newest build claims to be able to do so). I'm not motivated enough to try and figure out the direct x install and settings. That is the sort of thing that makes me prefer OS X to Windows any day of the week. Boot Camp works flawlessly for 3d games, so until VM can get that right, I'll stick to boot camp. I've started playing World of Warcraft, and in my busy life, that's the only thing I have time for. No need for a PC then (at the current time).
I doubt that Microsoft is seriously worried about virtualization on OS X.
So you have a more plausible explanation for the bizarre EULA flip-flopping? I do, but it is in ADDITION to their OS X worries...with virtualization users are able to bypass the DRM that keeps Vista proprietary. In other words, MS is trying to be like Apple, by making a closed architecture (and hoping it improves the functionality of their machines, like a Mac), but is failing, because they have a poor track record of successfully copying Apple tactics. Of course Apple doesn't allow OS X on other machines, because Apple is a hardware company first. There are only about 1,000,000,234 slasdhot threads on that topic. The difference is that Apple doesn't have a 95% market share, so they aren't bound by the same anti-competitive regulations.
I run windows on my Intel Mac, and it gets (adware, spyware, pop-ups, malware, viruses, et al) just the same. It isn't the hardware that makes Macs more secure (since Macs use run-of-the-mill PC components anyway). The OS is where the security shines, and running XP on my Mac is just as vulnerable as XP on my other two PCs.
First, the regular OEM price isn't a "greatly reduced price" - its the de-facto going rate for Windows (exactly what price the big boys, Dell, HP etc. pay - and what "Important considerations" they offer in return is another question).
OEM has EVERYTHING to do with it. In my business (education technology), we can't seriously consider the choice of switching to Macs and run WinOS because we'd have to buy an XP or Vista license for every Mac. Since Macs don't ship with OEM versions of Windows, it is a no sale for us. If Apple can sell pre-installed Windows Macs, schools like mine would switch tomorrow. As for the "greatly reduced price", I believe the author is referring to the price difference between buying Windows in retail, versus buying it preinstalled on a machine. I've seen PCs that cost less than the OS installed on it, so there is some merit in saying OEM is indeed greatly reduced (i.e., sold at a loss).
Or, you can be a reasonable adult, play World of Warcraft a few hours a week to have some fun and suspend some belief, then go back to the REAL world where you have responsibility. Feel free to exchange "play World of Warcraft" with "go drink 8 pints", or "go watch a movie" or "go skydiving"...
Since you don't get the guys impossible logic, you obviously are disproving ID. I mean, if a God were so intelligently designing humans, why are we so poorly designed that we can't see the truth of ID? Why do we get sick? For every argument ID'ers come up with about how it is just too uncanny that we have opposable thumbs or that the human circulatory system is far too advanced to have happened by chance, I can ask, "why do we get cancer", "why can't we see in the dark", or "why can't we breath underwater" questions.
That's because, in the US, there is a large population (and lots of them too), of people who don't need to learn no science, because science done never did nothing for them. Besides, it doesn't take any science to have 8 kids and live in a single wide trailer.
Years of cave men trying to get to that itch? Eventually the nostril has evolved to accept said digit.
On a side note, I had a crazy Army doctor tell me my four-toed son is evolutionary, because humans have been wearing shoes for so long. Uh, I wish we could have sued for malpractice, but the Army doesn't allow that.
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Can you explain why you can't do skype+wireless? I'm curious, because I'm counting on every limitation the iPhone supposedly has to be easily circumventable via the built in browser and web-apps. Thanks.
The ROKR? That's all you got? Come on, any moron can see that that is a Motorola phone with a weak attempt to paint an Apple logo on the side. It probably had more to do with the Apple/Motorola fall out and tying up any loose business ends before they cut ties with each other.
When is the last time you've seen an iMac? That question alone should get the author fired. Well, I'm typing on a 20" Intel iMac as we speak. It is my first iMac, because I never saw the allure of a transparent bowling ball on my desktop, nor a white platic lamp. Also, it is only as of recently that computers have slowed down enough for me to be comfortable with an all-in-one. I'm still cruising with a 1999 G4 and have never upgraded anything (other than a cpu speed bump up to 800 from 350). Why pay for the "upgradability" if my recent past shows I don't upgrade?
The author could have at least said the clam-shell iBooks were a flop, based on the logic of poor sales. Didn't only 13 year old girls buy those things?
I don't recall the Newton being a flop either. I recall lawyers and doctors loving the thing, and Apple not being able to make enough of them. Just because average Joe consumer doesn't buy something (too expensive for them) doesn't make it a flop. There are some circles (albeit small) that still laud the capabilities of that thing. A better FLOP example would be those eBook school computer thingies they were trying to push on everyone (foget what they are called, you know..the ones with the mono green screens in an era of cheap and easy 32-bit color?)
The Cube can be classified as a flop, only because it was poorly designed and overheated. Sales figures were based more in its propensity to incinerate its self moreso than the high price tag. The high price tag is bunk because people where buying $3000 Powerbooks left and right (myself included).
Eworld was bundled with Performas. No surpise that it faded out, because dial-up one-stop Internet points like AOL and Prodigy were also dying out at the same time. Apple didn't see the point in continuing an outdated Internet access model.
Here's an Apple flop for you..their QuickTake digital cameras. Those things were expensive and not suitable for the target market of creative professionals.
Well, that solves that mystery for me. The only thing I could find (since I live in England and don't really know what's going on in the States) is that Austin has 3G through Verizon. That works for me. So Apple leaving that out is a bit of a problem. The only thing I can think of why Apple has done this, is they started the iPhone development when 3G coverage was in the "100 networks worldwide" phase, and got too far into the design to add 3G without a substantial delay in release. Looks like I'll be waiting for 2.0, since I plan on using it more for the web and as a mobile media device than I will a phone anyway.
You might not think highly of the BlackJack, but given the sheer amount of posts that praise its low price and its purported ability to do everything the iPhone does, I would say others really like it. Looks like a pile of crap to me. If you think BlackBerry runs circles around it, then at least that gives me a frame of reference (I don't like our work BlackBerries at all, but maybe that's because they are US Government issued ones...the private market might have better models?)
Sorry to say, I was projecting the 30-second estimate at you. My relationship with my wife is just fine, yet for some reason, I feel no need to share that with anyone on /. Enjoy your "feeling good for hours" while it lasts. Someday you'll grow up.
My mistake. The phone next to the Blackberry, the Samsung BlackJack, only has one carrier (AT&T). It also comes with all the shortcomings of every smart phone on the market today, topped off with a nice serving of Windows Mobile...yumm.
Ok, so no open video standard like XVID, but there are plenty of 3rd party apps that convert most video formats to the iPod format. If you look at torrent sites, you'll see plenty of non-iTunes available tv shows available in iPod format, so obviously SOMEBODY has figured out how to convert XVID (and other formats) to iPod.
Also, why do you assume the iPhone will not have games or IM? Have you used an iPhone yet? It runs some form of OS X, so why couldn't it be able to run simple executable files? My video iPod plays games, and this is a video iPod too. Since the thing has a web browser, what would keep me from running web-based applications? A little optimism would be nice. If you find that hard, then maybe you could just wait until the thing is actually available and see how long it takes for the 3rd party apps to start flowing. Since I don't know you from Joe Schmoe, I'm inclined to give Apple the benefit of the doubt (based on their track record of successful consumer electronics) over some random dude's rant on the 'net.
I really don't like posts like yours that are just full of bias and projection. If you like your iRiver or your Zune, then good for you. Please don't try and tell us that your iRiver is somehow a better device because it supports open formats when it is nearly universally accepted that the iPod is a superior electronic device in nearly every way. And for crying out loud, don't for one second think that just because the iPhone lacks features YOU want, that it will be a horrible product that nobody with half a brain would ever consider buying.
Or maybe you are missing the simpler fact that she believes people who believe in Marxism are dumbasses. I got it, you over-analyzed it.
Shit, I'm married, so I can have sex whenever I like, and sometimes with my wife! But I can't get an iPhone in England. At this point, the iPhone is more desirable, because I can't have it. So good for "Bob" and her "orgasms". One day, he/she might grow up and realize there is much more to life than his/her 30 seconds of bliss.
I guess I'm lucky. I'm STILL using the first AGP G4 tower (the hard to find 350mhz one) that I bought in 1999 (unless you consider the slate ones to be 2nd generation to the blue ones?). I have a core solo Intel MacBook with no mooing noises, doesn't spontaneously reboot, and has just a smidge of plastic discoloration (that occured immediately but hasn't progressed). I recall my late 90s "Wallstreet" Powerboook to have been one of the best laptops I've ever owned (relative to the other offerings of the time). Ok, so I didn't buy a cube, even though I wanted one. I would buy an iPhone if it weren't for the fact that I hate mobile phones (more the users than the phones themselves). If I spent even $50 on a cell phone, I would only be kidding myself with an inflated sense of self worth. Unless you are in sales, most of you don't need a phone nearly as badly as you think you do.
So which is it? "90% of all Americans have access to 3G" (dubious), or "there are only 100 3G networks worldwide, most of them NOT in the US".
The iPhone may not be the first, but based on the comparison in the article, it is the ONLY device that does several things (and does them well, seemingly). Namely, the other devices lack Wifi altogether. Blackberries may be great and all, but according to TFA, it uses the same slow EDGE network, only one carrier, and no Wifi. Not to mention a hokey mini-os that lacks the capabilities of the fully function desktop OS underpinnings of the iPhone.
Well if my current stock of three iPods at home had touch panel interfaces like that of the iPhone, I wouldn't lament the loss of a clickwheel.
Kicking windows habit is a good thing, and the EULA is about circumventing the DRM, which we both stated. I'm not sure we disagre enough to warrant much discussion ;-) The DRM in Vista, and especially the Zune player and marketplace, is anti-competitive, and Microsoft's weak attempt to copy the iTunes+iPod business model. It has workded for MS before, but this time, they are a day late and a dollar short. Apple can get away with it, but if MS does it, it is anti-competitive, given their huge marketshare in the field of OSes. The other bad thing about VM for MS is that it opens people's eyes to the fact they don't have to use Windows (as we've both stated), and the more people realize they have a choice, the more people switch. MS fears the snowball effect, which is the exact opposite phenomena that built up windows (the concept that everyone thinks they have to have Windows because of work, so they buy Windows at home, and their friends buy windows, because everyone else has windows, and our parents buy windows, because they don't know anything about computers, etc.).
Boot camp. I just installed the 15 day Parallels trial, but so far I can't get a single 3D game to work (even though the newest build claims to be able to do so). I'm not motivated enough to try and figure out the direct x install and settings. That is the sort of thing that makes me prefer OS X to Windows any day of the week. Boot Camp works flawlessly for 3d games, so until VM can get that right, I'll stick to boot camp. I've started playing World of Warcraft, and in my busy life, that's the only thing I have time for. No need for a PC then (at the current time).
I run windows on my Intel Mac, and it gets (adware, spyware, pop-ups, malware, viruses, et al) just the same. It isn't the hardware that makes Macs more secure (since Macs use run-of-the-mill PC components anyway). The OS is where the security shines, and running XP on my Mac is just as vulnerable as XP on my other two PCs.
Or, you can be a reasonable adult, play World of Warcraft a few hours a week to have some fun and suspend some belief, then go back to the REAL world where you have responsibility. Feel free to exchange "play World of Warcraft" with "go drink 8 pints", or "go watch a movie" or "go skydiving"...
Since you don't get the guys impossible logic, you obviously are disproving ID. I mean, if a God were so intelligently designing humans, why are we so poorly designed that we can't see the truth of ID? Why do we get sick? For every argument ID'ers come up with about how it is just too uncanny that we have opposable thumbs or that the human circulatory system is far too advanced to have happened by chance, I can ask, "why do we get cancer", "why can't we see in the dark", or "why can't we breath underwater" questions.
That's because, in the US, there is a large population (and lots of them too), of people who don't need to learn no science, because science done never did nothing for them. Besides, it doesn't take any science to have 8 kids and live in a single wide trailer.
On a side note, I had a crazy Army doctor tell me my four-toed son is evolutionary, because humans have been wearing shoes for so long. Uh, I wish we could have sued for malpractice, but the Army doesn't allow that.