Ones Who Do ...

* Narrated by Steve Jobs, Co-founder of Apple Computer

Here's to the crazy ones,
the misfits,
the rebels,
the troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.

They're not fond of rules
and they have no respect for the status quo

You can quote them,
disagree with them,
glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can't do
is ignore them,
because they change things.
They push the human race forward.

And while some may see them as the crazy ones,
we see genius.

Because the people who are crazy enough to
think they can change the world
are the ones who do.

How Apple IS protecting your privacy ...

Apple's Find My iPhone sample page

U.S. Senator/Former SNL Writer Al Franken

With all the talk lately about Apple collecting iPhone location data and bumbling Saturday Night Live writer/actor/comedian turned U.S. Senator Al Franken trying to capitalize on Apple headlines like a Dvorak column with his new "privacy bill", no one seems to have mentioned something rather obvious …

Apple provides one service, completely free, that is squarely aimed at consumer privacy:

FIND MY iPHONE.

Before Find My iPhone, you could google for "a phone ringing" website, ring your phone, and if it wasn't on silent, locate your cellphone. With Find My iPhone, the phone will ring in a loud echoing submarine sonar ringtone EVEN IF you have the phone on silent - just by going to Apple's very own me.com.

This is one of the iPhone's single biggest awesome features that isn't marketed very much … but there's a another advantage; privacy.

See, all those "make your phone ring from the internet" services - they collect and SELL your number. Some, are even laced with malware and porn ads.

So, the geniuses at Apple truly do care about your privacy and Senator Franken … you didn't even know it.

I just used it … I probably use it two or three times a week.

Thoughts On The iPhone 4 ...

Here's a review I wrote on eBay for the iPhone 4 on launch day:

The iPhone 4 is the ultimate upgrade to the iPhone line.

What else could they possibly add in an upgrade?

I've owned each iPhone from day 1 of their launch dates.

I've owned a cellphone since 1992. I've always had a "top of the line phone"

(I've always had AT&T = formerly Cingular = formerly BellSouth Mobility)

In 17 years having cellphones, I've had over 100 (Yes 100+) different models & makes.

I've also had a few days each with the Palm Pre and Motorola Droid - neither compare to the iPhone 4.

The screen on the new iPhone 4 (also known as the iPhone HD) has to be seen to be believed. One thing that not many people are saying about the iPhone is that the screen seems to be a part of the glass, not slightly recessed behind a piece of glass.

Besides the screen that's been compared to a high end laser printer for text, the new iPhone has a new button arrangement that is easier to press and understand their functionality.

The iPhone 4 also has a new antenna that delivers almost twice the performance for cell signal, bluetooth, and wifi. The casing IS the antenna!

The wifi signal has been boosted from 802.11g to 802.11n - greatly extending the range, security, and bandwidth of the signal.

The new camera on the iPhone 4 (5 megapixel) bumps up from the 2 megapixel on the original iPhone and bumps up from the 3.2 megapixel on the iPhone 3Gs. (Original and 3G shared the same camera & processor)

I had an original Apple Quicktake camera and it was amazing even though it was below a megapixel - when Apple discontinued cameras in 1998 I longed for the day when they would again create a camera using their expertise. With the iPhone that happened - with the iPhone 4 the perfect camera now exists! A camera that can instantly share a picture or video on the internet, thru email, or save for later. A camera that has ON device editing - even through Photoshop using the Adobe Photoshop app.

The iPhone 4 also adds a front facing camera which allows you to video conference with other iPhone 4 users.

The iPhone 4 also brings a new operating system (to all iPhones) and multiple application use (multitasking) to the 3GS and iPad, and iPhone 4.

The iPhone 4 uses GSM - an international standard technology for cellphones.

Verizon & Sprint use CDMA (& variants) - this technology is found in very few places widespread outside the USA & Europe.

While the iPhone 4 also has better GPS functionality - the Google maps app is decent but not the best - but the best app for GPS certainly got better with the better antenna and the new accelerometer/gyroscope in the iPhone 4 - try Navigon - it ROCKS!

Because an iPhone uses standard iPod sync & charge cables, accessories are easy to find.

Battery life is very good & improved from the previous generations of iPhones; even when utilizing power draining features like Wifi & Bluetooth.

I can actually use the calculator on an iPhone, unlike on other cell phones where you have to figure out corresponding keys.

I have a lot of music nearly 2000 songs and a GPS app that takes up almost a gigabyte, plus nearly 1000 pictures on my iPhone and the 16GB model is perfect for me - leaving me with 4 gigs of space left.

I now have zero complaints about the iPhone 4. My complaints are relegated to AT&T!

_________________________________

Nokia: ‘We Prioritize Antenna Performance Over Physical Design if They Are Ever in Conflict’

John Gruber of the tech blog Daring Fireball ...

Judging by how their phones look, must be a lot of conflicts.

_________________________________

My take on the iPhone 4 and the issues of signal loss when "holding the iPhone wrong" ...

1) All iPhones have had this problem - one of my Nokias (that I still use as a back up) has this issue

2) This is a rather common problem with cellphones ... "where you hold it" ... but the iPhone has a particular spot that is "made worse" by the touch of your skin. The solution is simple - put it in a case - in my opinion you're an idiot if you don't have a $500 value "thing you own" protected - at least in some manner.

3) Methinks Verizon (and possibly Nokia) has stepped into the role of Creative (an old Apple iPod rival) ... at ANY chance they are PLANTING FUD into the media - even going as far as making things up like "what anonymous Apple engineers have said".

4) A case (mine is made by a company called Rocketfish) did help my signal "issues" greatly as did the update to the iPhone OS (OS4.0.1)

Provided below is a link to the Steve Jobs (and crew @ Apple) talk on the iPhone 4 signal issue ... It also explains the process to get a free bumper.

You can see the press conference here:

http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/100716iab73asc/event/index.html

Steve Jobs Thoughts On Flash + My Own Thoughts

Steve Jobs has written an open letter on the Apple Website regarding Adobe's Flash web technology:

Steve Jobs: Thought On Flash

The basic topics of the letter cover:

It's not open.

The "full web.

Reliability, security and performance.

Battery life.

Touch.

One of the web's greatest hidden evils: rollovers. Rollover flash ads don't fit with the Touch interface.

Basically, Flash is built around the idea of mouse input, and would need to be "rewritten" to work well on touch devices.

Development.

If developers grow dependent on third party development libraries and tools, they can only take advantage of platform enhancements if and when the third party chooses to adopt the new features."

________________________________

I'd like to add my own two cents about the PC side concerning Adobe Flash:

While I have worked for many PC shops over the years to do their Mac work ... occasionally I'm asked to assist with the influx of PCs that need to be virus cleaned. The main culprits for loading viruses on PCs are Flash and infected Adobe PDFs.

And then the Mac side of things:

Since I sell my own networking device for Macs - one common question I get is how to speed up the internet. My first suggestion is always to try to avoid sites with Flash ... but if you must visit them ... download a program called Click To Flash.

From The Click To Flash description:

Ever wanted to get rid of the scourge of the web that is Adobe Flash, but still retain the ability to view Flash whenever you want? With ClickToFlash, you can! Using ClickToFlash, all of those icky Flash bits that have infected most webpages on the internets are replaced with a nice, smooth gradient and the word "Flash" set in a nice, pleasing font. When you want to view the Flash, just click on it!

The advantages of ClickToFlash are numerous. Since Flash isn't loaded until you specifically ask for it, your CPU usage will stay at normal levels when browsing the web. This has tons of benefits: web browsing stays speedy, your Mac laptop won't get as hot, and your Mac's fan won't come on as often. In fact, we guarantee* that ClickToFlash will quintuple your battery life and that it will protect those precious parts of your body on which you rest your laptop! (*note: not actually guaranteed)

Best of all, ClickToFlash even supports viewing all those ADORABLE meowing cat videos, annoying dog videos, and hilarious rickrolls from YouTube without using Flash at all! That's because YouTube also offers H.264 videos, which are used when viewing YouTube on the iPhone. With ClickToFlash, you get access to those same, higher quality videos.

Flash only when you want it.

One-click Flash loading.

View blocked Flash with just one click.

Higher quality YouTube

Play H.264 videos in QuickTime.

HD YouTube support.

No more blocky video.

Website Whitelist.

Allow Flash on certain websites.

Application Whitelist.

Allow Flash in certain applications.

Load quality typesetting automatically.

Finally ... If you've ever gone through the process of installing Adobe Flash/Adobe AIR/Adobe Reader you know that's it's one of the worst experiences you'll ever have with a computer.

At points in the past Adobe has:

1) Had an installer that installs an installer that downloads an installer that downloads from the web.

2) Had an installer that contained an exploit for PCs

3) Had an installer that crashed Macs

4) Had an installer that altered your "file opening" preferences without your permission.

The Rare Apple ...

Yesterday this auction popped up on eBay:

VERY RARE PROTOTYPE Apple Interactive Television Box

In June 2008, I did this story on my tech blog FixYourThinking:

Is The Apple Set Top Box A Prototype Or Is It Even Rare?

The majority of the units that are availible in the United States are NOT prototypes. They were actually used "in room" at hotels at Disneyland California - roughly 5000 units were distributed. There was never ANY intention for these to be availible to consumers. Most of the "rare" jargon was written by a guy who acquired a bunch of these and wanted to sell them on eBay a few years back.

What is rare (and is mentioned as "not included" in this auction) is the remote control that came with these units. The remote controls the MacTV and all Sony TVs.

If you'd like to see a detailed discussion of the Apple set top box look at this page on Apple Fritter.

Unlike the people in the Apple Fritter forum, I was able to get one of these working back in 1999 - I basically pulled all the data from a SCSI hard drive that was built into the unit - it was mostly all interactive shopping and park navigation at Disneyland.

Oh, you're one of those "Mac People" ...

My local paper writes this in a story about a potential Apple Store locating within my home state of South Carolina:

"Apple is the manufacturer of the popular iPhone, iPod and Mac laptops. So intense are customers’ loyalty to the products they sometimes call themselves the Cult of Mac."

I'm a former Apple employee, lifetime Mac owner, iPhone owner, Mac User Group member, Apple Tech, Computer Shop Tech, topical Apple blogger ... Never in my life have I ever heard someone I know identify themselves as a part of the "Cult Of Mac".

* Leander Kahney is the author of The Cult Of Mac Blog

From 1998 to 2002, I did Apple rep work at various SEARS, Circuit City, and CompUSA stores across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. I also did Palm Rep work at various Office Depot stores throughout the Tri-State area of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. At this point in Apple history, even though Apple already had hits like the iMac and iBook and were very solid financially - Apple still had that stigma about them - that they were about to "go out of business". One jab I would get when I arrived into a store was, "Oh, you're a 'Mac Person' " ... this line was almost always followed by a ignorant of the facts, generic line about Apple computers being great with graphics or that they didn't have games or that they couldn't run programs like Quicken. It almost always was preceded with, "Oh ...".

After building a rapport with the retail staff - I would slowly explain that Apple (at the time) had $4 Billion (with a "B") in the bank. I would explain that just about every major piece of software had an Apple equivalent or counterpart. Nowadays, these points are almost moot. Now, Apple has $35 Billion+ (with a "B") in the bank, has the success of the Intel Macs, the mega hit of the iPhone and iPod Touch, and gets enormous buzz each time Steve Jobs so much as sneezes.

I've rather enjoyed the recent trend where people are starting to say,

"Oh, you use a PC ..."

LOST: The Final Season To Premiere Tuesday, February 2, 2010

The season premiere of LOST is on Tuesday February 2, 2010.

It starts at 8PM EST on ABC.

I'm not saying this as a fanatic, I don't have posters or action figures ... I don't even own any of the DVDs from previous seasons ... this is just one of the most compelling stories ever told.

I'd strongly encourage you to watch.

If you'd like to catch up ... you can probably get seasons 1-4 on DVD from your local library.

I rented season 5 from Blockbuster.

You can also watch and catch up on ABC.COM and on iTunes.

The SYFY Network and G4 Network also rerun previous seasons on cable and satellite TV.

* All the writers of LOST (and the executive producer J.J. Abrahms) are Mac users.