There’s been a big push by Microsoft to get everyone to cross over to the 64bit version of Vista. Are you and your hardware ready for it?

I’ve got a MacBook Pro. I purchased the notebook in December of 2006. It’s the low end unit, with a 2.16 GHz C2D processor, 4GB of RAM (yes, Leopard will see and use all 4GB of RAM, despite what you might think, or are told), and a 120GB hard drive. It’s not a bad unit; and has treated me well in the almost 20 months that I’ve been using it.

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I noticed something (else) of interest on MacNN this morning - Apple has seeded a new build of Leopard 10.5.5 to developers.  This release, hot on the heals of the latest OSX update, isn’t due to hit a Mac near you for at least a couple of months or so.  While the update list is currently small for a 300MB+ download (see list below), the list of changes will likely grow as we get nearer to release day. However, currently on the list are -

• tweaks to HFS+,
• Tweaks to the BSD kernel
• Tweaks to Energy Saver and Power Management settings,
• Resolutions to Mail and Preferences syncing,
• Resolutions to multiple TCP connections through the Application Firewall.
• Resolution to fix crashes in the MobileMe Preference pane.

During dinner with Clinton Fitch last night, he and I got talking about which devices we use. I’m in the iPhone 3G and he’s in the Advantage. That thing is HUGE, but what a wonderful screen it has. Big, bright, roomy…just…wow.

The first thing out of my mouth is that it must suck the battery power real hard. However, while my 3G had a full battery before dinner (and Clinton was working from a partial…) I’m the one who ran out of power before I got home, not Clinton.

The reason why people like me and Clinton (and yes, sites like Gear Diary) make such a stink about issues like the iPhone’s battery life is to help OEM’s/ODM’s correct issues like this by testing, gathering information, and by pointing out where the problems are. However, we can only be effective at what we do if the OEM/ODM listens…

By all counts, Apple is working on ROM update 2.1 for iPhone, bit no one knows what issues it will address. While we don’t necessarily need all the details, it would help if Apple would simply acknowledge the device’s issues.

Right now, they are refusing to do that, especially with signal strength and battery life issues. And people like me writing for sites like Gear Diary don’t know if we’ve been heard, acknowledged or what. I’m not looking for a pat on the back or any kind of validation; but I am looking for some kind of response from Apple or AT&T, depending on the issue - we heard you and are actively working on the issue, we’re working on resolving the problem but won’t have a fix until mm-yyyy or we aren’t planning to fix that at this time.

The whole situation stymied Clinton last night. It doesn’t make sense to me either. What would you do? How would you approach this issue? Why don’t you join us in the discussion and give us your thoughts.

Posted from my iPhone…

Update: Chris Gavula sent me a TXT citing this article at MacNN.  It references an update from Apple that is supposed to address signal issues, and therefore battery life.

Until recently, both Apple and AT&T were pointing fingers at each other indicating that [the other] was responsible for resolving reception issues on the iPhone 3G.  Reports are now coming in that both companies are looking into resolving the problems.  All I can say is, it’s about time!

I noticed on iLounge that AT&T spokesman, Mark Siegel said,

…while customer concerns were being looked into, it is difficult to know if they are widespread or related to individual circumstances. “How a device performs in individual situations depends on circumstances like where you are in the 3G coverage, how close you are to a cell site. Things like terrain and buildings all come into play,” Siegel said. “I’m not denying that people are having a less than satisfactory experience, but overall, the phone is doing great.”… Nomura analyst, Richard Windsor, has said in a note to clients that the problem may stem from an immature chipset from Infineon.

There are further articles related to iPhone 3G reception and connection issues at MacRumors; and C|Net has been monitoring this thread at Apple.

It would seem that Apple put in an untried and very new 3G chipset into the iPhone 3G, instead of a [perhaps more expensive] more mature, tried and true chipset/radio.  Ok… show of hands… Who here bought the iPhone because Apple’s stuff “just works?”  Who here bought the iPhone 3G thinking that it would be a more mature product than the original iPhone, because the iPhone has been around for a year already?

Yah… that would be me, too…

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This morning, Engadget and electronista.com are reporting (apparently from a Wall Street Journal interview) that Steve Jobs has confirmed that there is, in fact, an application “kill switch” inside of the 2.x iPhone OS.  I mentioned in a previous posting that I felt Apple needed to make a public statement about the kill switch rumors and apparently they now have. 

So now we’ll get to hear from the Apple fanboys about how Apple is protecting us, from the Apple bashers how Apple is just “Big Brother” and from the MS fanboys who are bitter that MS didn’t do it first.

Oh, by the way - Apple is also reporting that 60 million apps have been downloaded for the iPhone in the first month of the app store. 

Let the battle of protectionism vs. big brother-ism commence…

I’ve seen this on a lot of mobile device sites, including MacRumors, iPhone Freak and iPhone Alley (to name but a few); but it appears that the iPhone tethering application, NetShare, won’t be coming back to the US-based App Store…EVER.

According to information that I’ve read on these and other sites, the app was removed for one reason and one reason alone-it violates AT&T’s Terms of Service for both iPhone and iPhone 3G: No tethering allowed. AT&T is specifically prohibiting tethering on its network from these two devices. It’s not a matter of CAN’T. It’s a matter of thou shalt not.

My guess is this is a band width issue. I pushed well over 1GB of data through my iPhone 3G last month, and I really didn’t do THAT much. Yes, I surfed the internet a bit more with that device than I ever did with my WM devices (though I didn’t do YouTube or AOL Radio much with it).  However, I think that AT&T is affraid they will clog The Pipe if people start tethering their iPhones; and THAT’S why we won’t see NetShare back in the App Store.

Now, as far as those of us lucky enough to get NetShare before it got permanently pulled (yes, I was able to get a copy; no, I haven’t used it yet), use of the app is a bit on the grey side. I don’t think AT&T will be able to to tell what app you are using on their network without specifically sniffing for NetShare packets on specific accounts; and since they pulled it before it got too much air time, I’m not certain how many copies they actually sold, or how often it really is used. I’m also not certain what AT&T will do if they catch any user tethering their iPhone to their laptop.  From my understanding, it does violate your ToS and contract.

What do you think?  Were you able to get NetShare?  Have you used it? How does it work for you? Is it something that you plan to use a lot? why don’t you join us in the discussion and give us your thoughts?

I am not having a “Happy Apple Week”.

First I bought an app from the iTunes App Store that I wanted to review over on WhatsOniPhone that just plain didn’t work. My attempts to contact Apple to get a refund have been nothing short of absurd. I’ve documented it in a small rant here.

As if that wasn’t bad enough my email stopped working for a few hours today. Yup, MobileMe was down- shocking isn’t it????

So I (finally) found the information to get on a Support Chat. (Why do they make it so impossible? I know, also shocking.) I don’t know about you, but I had nothing better to do today than wait for 64 minutes- yes 64 minutes- to get a support person. (Actually, come to think of it, “lack-of-support person” is more accurate.)

I’ve included the transcript below for your amusement but took the liberty of removing the Rep’s name and putting the more “significant” pieces in bold. Continue Reading

Well the Internet media is at it again.

I posted a commentary a while back about how rumour and unsubstantiated conjecture are often posted as “fact” these days.  I indicated that you, the reader, really need to do your research and not take these “news” postings at their face value.  Well now there’s another “big one” floating around out there.  According to the story - Apple has a list stored on the iPhone of unauthorized apps.  Further, the phone will periodically call Apple and check and Apple then has the ability to kill that app.  This has got a whole lot of people really riled up.  Unfortunately, it’s not exactly how the story goes.

Read on after the break to see what was actually said.

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This is kinda funny because I was talking with Chris Gavula on the way home today about dumping my iPhone back on AT&T. I am sick and tired of all of the bugs and problems with the iPhone 3G!  Low and behold, I get home, do a backup on my MacBook Pro (hard drive issues…I was planning an upgrade anyway), and I get a Tweet from Ryan Block (I follow him, he didn’t send me a direct tweet), indicating that the iPhone bug fix release is available.

I am downloading now, and hope that this thing resolves some of my issues. I am at my wits end with this thing. I have to turn it off and restart at least 1-2x a day. If I wanted this kind of instability, I would have bought an obscure Windows Mobile device or something…  

Seriously…some of the issues we are seeing with the iPhone 2.0 software are SERIOUSLY reminiscent of some of the earlier WM implementations.  Multiple soft resets a day, multiple application crashes, signal retention issues…it’s killing me!

If you haven’t already, go!  Click the Update button in iTunes, grab the firmware, and then come back and let us know how things went for you!

I saw this at iPhone Alley and had to relay the information.  It appears that one user’s iPhone 3G’s battery got so hot, it melted the plastic backing, killed the sync connector and burnt his leg.  You can see the article here.  The picture, below, came from their site, so all credit to them for the pic. (Thanks, guys!!)

I’ve noticed that my iPhone 3G gets very hot, and it seems that when it does heat up, the battery drains very quickly, in under 2 hours, in fact. However, I’ve noticed that if you cool the phone off and keep it cool, the battery drain stops and returns to normal. I’ve got a phone cradle tatooed to my dash, and it sits right in front of the air conditioner vent. 

I kinda did this on purpose, not to cool the phone, but because it was the best place to put it. The decreased battery drain is just a bonus, I guess. However, I wonder if better venting might help increase battery life?  Why not join us in the discussion and give us your 2 cents..?