Michael Gracie

I find the OS X platform exceptional for development, but what buggy code I do produce is almost exclusively for the web. Therefore, I don’t follow what goes on at Apple Developer conferences – it just doesn’t concern me. But today I heard that Apple had announced a new iPhone at their Worldwide Developers Conference, and almost immediately the news turned sour. Amongst the spoiled grapes, users were peeved that AT&T was not going to allow existing iPhone owners to upgrade equipment at subsidized prices unless existing contracts allowed for it, and that MMS and internet access tethering wouldn’t be available right away either. People are downright hostile, over a phone.

I’ve toyed around with an iPhone, and I don’t understand the attraction. But it certainly seems like a fatal one. It’s got a pretty, but delicate screen. There’s no tactile keypad or keyboard. You can’t swap batteries when the charge dies. You can install applications on it, but only those the manufacturer approves (and delivers). Rumor has it the manufacturer can “brick” the phone, of any “owner”, any time it likes. But my goodness it plays music. And you are always “connected” when you have it.

Considering the magnitude and intensity of the obsession with the device, I wonder whether the always connected mantra is becoming a neurosis.

It sounds like you need to unplug man. What do you think DeJour…should we take him with us? Definitely.

Forget the white rabbit. Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg…heck…Oprah Winfrey – they’re handing out their own brand of blue pills.

I doubt those passed even phase 1 trials, hence the side effects are anyone’s guess.

Technology
• Apple to introduce more affordable Macs – it’s always those pesky ’sources’ you have to wonder about. Unless Apple drops their prices by 50% or more (and without handicapping existing systems), I don’t think they are going to make any significant market share gains in this economic environment.
• Another phishing scam hit Facebook – I’d like to worry about the phishing issue, but I’m not on Facebook. No…I’m more worried about the catfish noodlers depicted in the news encroaching on my territory.
• Twitter’s reach is limited – It’s part of the meme that Twitter can’t keep users on board. Part of this may result from Twitter syntax (i.e. direct message versus replies versus retweets) being a little tough to grasp, or it may just be that Oprah hasn’t started pumping the service full of feel-good self-helpedness yet.

Finance

• Comcast is cranking up the cash flow – And I’ll tell you how. My Comcast internet is down today, and when I called tech support they offered to send support out. Great…except they also said it’ll cost me $27, unless I want to pay money for ’service assurance.’ So I’m supposed to a monthly rate for broadband, and pay extra to keep the service up? The moment I mentioned pro-rating my bill for all the time service is down, the tone changed.
• Chrysler is headed for bankruptcy – Last minute negotiations with creditors don’t pan out, but thankfully the government sweetener (i.e. more taxpayer dollars) doesn’t pan out either.
• Continuing US jobless claims at fresh record high – The meme tossed around here is that things are turning around because new claims for unemployment have slowed. Can’t go into the numerous factors that may have caused that, because I hardly trust the government estimates to begin with. What I can say is that the powers that be have a lot of motivation to convince you to spend, even if it does mean stretching the truth.

Fly Fishing

• California Legislator Wants Striped Bass Eradicated – The striped bass are always in trouble, particular on the East Coast. But hearing that a Californian legislator doesn’t give a damn about protecting wildlife is just too much.
• If you teach a man to bonefish – Well he might still go a little hungry (I’m not sure how tasty bonefish are but I have heard they’re edible). But he will have a hell of a lot of fun.

What…three tidbits on technology and finance, and only two on fly fishing? Yep, I think you’ve had enough this month already.

MG signing off (to find some news you can actually use)

The next operating system release from Apple, Snow Leopard, is going to include the CoreLocation framework already available for iPhone developers. And…

Since Macs don’t include GPS technology like the iPhone 3G, CoreLocation will utilize a Mac’s existing networking hardware to triangulate the system’s location in a manner similar to the way the original iPhone was able to use the technology to emulate a true global positioning signal.

This may all seem very interesting to those who don’t mind strangers knowing where they are 24/7, but for those of us who value our liberty, we’d rather not have this stuff as default.

No, there is no tinfoil hat here. This is a choice issue – the first of which is the choice to NOT use an iPhone and NOT use mobile maps (unless they are installed resident in my phone’s memory) because I really don’t care to have corporate behemoths knowing where I’m at and where I’m going all the time (and that goes for Apple, Google, and my mobile carrier). Unless the CoreLocation services can be easily disabled, you’re going to have to scrutinize every app you install on your Mac for the access, or not use your networking hardware if you enjoy piece of mind.

I’m personally not willing to deal with the privacy hassles – unless the services can be removed, Leopard is going to be the last Apple operating system upgrade I ever employ.

RELATED: A reaction to reactions on Google Latitude. Hard to have a problem with something that is opt-in.

The bird is the word…

• In a ‘who drew up the f-ing covenants’ moment, GM just received bailout money but is [insert still, perpetually, or if you feel like being witty, surprisingly] having problems getting labour costs in line. Bankruptcy filing, a certain middle finger to the public, is still on the table.
• Long ring fingers as compared to index fingers may point to more success amongst traders. And a longer middle finger on the hands of bank CEOs gets the banks more bailout money too…
• The same goes for the politicians when it comes to selling more US Treasury securities to unsuspecting investors, before sending out the default notices.
• As for tech, analysts are giving the middle finger to Sony, and Apple probably isn’t far behind.

And on an unrelated note, today in People…

• Paris Hilton’s website is infected with malware. Information Week is actually telling the story instead of the tabloids, so if you’re a ‘Hollywood-type’ you can assume the headline isn’t just some codespeak for Ms. Hilton giving you the middle finger.

Adieu.

Just numbers

• PIMCO’s Bill Gross says Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages are ‘excellent’. Why would he say anything else?
• AMEX’s high-end borrowers are battening down the hatches, and it’s causing the lender some problems.
• An Apple (AAPL) analyst makes a call, and it is spot on.
• Countrywide’s reach goes even deeper – “Friends of Angelo” are seeping out of the woodwork.
• Dont’ cheat be lazy with your hedge fund job application.
• Bank of America is buying Countrywide assets but leaving its creditors behind? Watch and learn.

and…

• Paypal competitors beware – few survive, and the rest wind up in prison.

Because some of the employees behind it seem delirious.

My monitor is an Apple Cinema HD 23”. It’s on the fritz – when I try to wake it up in the morning (or after any downtime more than a few hours) it takes anywhere from several minutes to several hours to turn back on. It isn’t just the backlight – when it’s dead, USB and Firewire ports are inoperable, and even the power switch fails to react. Sometimes the caps lock light on the keyboard (attached to the USB in said monitor) blinks while the monitor is black. It’s got a lot of AppleCare warranty left on it, but I’m not sure that really matters.

I’ve called the service/support line several times. They moved me to a product specialist in each case, and we carefully outlined troubleshooting steps. They ruled out any trouble with the MacBook Pro it’s generally attached to, and a visit to one of Apple’s Genius Bars was the latest suggestion.

As it turns out, my visit to the Apple Store in Cherry Creek turned out to be a sheer and utter waste of time.

Some highlights:

- The kid helping me, Travis, was quick to point out that waiting around for a $900 monitor’s backlight to come on was pretty normal. Sure it is, kid. Either he’s staring at ten year old Compaq monochomes while playing Doom(-1) in his parents’ basement, or he was just exercising his “genius.” Likely the latter.

- The kid also noted that I couldn’t possibly “be trying to scam him out of a new monitor.” Nice. All I could think to myself was why the hell anyone would want to get a new monitor, of the exact same model, if their’s worked perfectly fine? Apple hasn’t updated these monitors in years and if someone has AppleCare there is a pretty good chance they’ve got more warranty left than they’d get with a new one. Maybe the kid was just being a “genius.” As an added point, this particular monitor is completely free of dead pixels and has only minor ghosting/bleeding, not something many owners of similar equipment can brag about (read the Apple reviews to find out more). Why would I want to give that up? Thanks…I wouldn’t.

- Also behind the Genius Bar was another gent, a bit older fellow named Craig, that was listening in on the conversation. When the kid asked him what he thought, this yabbo starts into a tirade, directed at me, about how if they couldn’t replicate the problem exactly as described they would be wasting their time and money shipping it back and forth for repair. Thanks. I guess I was already wasting my time packing the monitor up in it’s factory case, driving to the mall, hauling up two flights of stairs and into the Apple Store. And along with the Macbook Pro I was told by customer care to bring along, just in case. I was left wondering what kind of “genius” would blather in such a way to an existing customer who just hauled in equipment he’d paid roughly $4,000 for. Instantaneous answer – someone behind the Genius Bar.

Let’s note…the customer care people rocked, laying out plenty of troubleshooting ideas which we tried day after day. Their solution of last resort was visiting the store, and only because they knew I wasn’t interesting in waiting weeks for a resolution. Also, the phone folks were pretty specific – I should note my case number when I brought the equipment in so the people helping me could review the related case notes first. I asked the kid three times…”you need the case number?” He said no, twice, and then noted on the last inquiry that they could get the case notes via the serial number of the monitor. Of course, the Genius Bar Work Authorization had no “steps to reproduce” printed on it, and I left the store fairly certain that I’ll soon be back to square one.

And sure enough I was right. Apple called me just before closing the following day to tell me my monitor was ready for pickup. I ran down there only to find them claiming they couldn’t replicate the problem. Right. A quick discussion with ol’ Craig, who babbled incessantly about all the unsuccessful troubleshooting steps they had performed, uncovered the following:

- The geniuses plugged the monitor into a MacPro, not a MacBook Pro. Call me crazy, but one could surmise the two machines have different video cards. Someone who is completely insane might also think that MacPros and MacBook Pros behave different when a Cinema display is plugged into them, particular in laptop dual-video mode (seeing as MacPros don’t operated in laptop dual-video modes because they…uh…aren’t laptops).

- The geniuses stated they could not provide documentation of the troubleshooting steps performed, because they didn’t actually document the steps.

- The geniuses stated that they never looked up the case number customer care told me to give them. They said they produced a new case number when items come in – so much for continuity in troubleshooting.

- Master genius Craig was beligerent as ever, yapping (again) in no uncertain terms that if I couldn’t document the precise steps required to produce the problem, then there was nothing they could do. This of course came out of his trap after the grand admission that they didn’t review the existing case, and didn’t plug the display into a relevant machine. So much for precise troubleshooting.

I leave you with a lovely picture of my dead display. I’m not worried – it’ll come on sometime soon, as in maybe when I get back from lunch actually dinner (as the photo was taken immediately after returning from lunch – and the display did turn on again, roughly five minutes after awakening the laptop).

UPDATE: A few days later, I get a chance to call customer care again. They are once again quite helpful – the senior support person I talked with says this issue screams of “power board failure,” and the display is now on it’s way to repair.

UPDATE 2: The display came back – two parts wound up being replaced. All seems good again. As for the “genius” bar visit – confirmed – a sheer and utter waste of time.

UPDATE 3: But…I spoke too soon. Same problem still exists (and a problem that doesn’t exist with another monitor in its place). I now suspect it’s a power supply issue.

LAST UPDATE: Called customer care. Again. They sent a new power adapter. Plugged it in, and sent the old one back. Five days running, no problem. To think, Apple spent roughly three hours on the phone with me, sent me to the dummy bar, shipped me a box, paid for shipping out and back, and replaced two parts, with no resolution. Then, a stupid little white brick of a power adapter turns out to be the problem. I’ll bet they spent $650 to satisfy the warranty service on a monitor that retails for $900, when they could have just started with the most obvious issue…a power issue. I’m grateful it’s over, but there’s a bigger point at hand – I’d venture to guess that as Apple gains popularity, linearly, their warranty service issues are going to grow, multiplicatively (if not exponentially).

Not particularly favorable.

The world is getting a sexy little laptop with wireless-only connectivity and an irreplaceable battery – the MacBook Air. They are also getting a 1TB drive that works over the radio – the Time Capsule.

This time next year, a bunch of MacBook Air owners will have laptops that lose their charge in twenty minutes, and they’ll have to pay $120 or so to get them fixed. They’ll be looking silly at their next coffee-shop meeting too, when the colleague says “oh I’ve got that file on CD.” Or worse…”I’ve got that file on my portable Firewire drive” (there’s no Firewire on the device either). This convenience have cost them roughly two grand to start.

Meanwhile, a whole bunch of other folks will have nifty storage units sitting on their shelves. They’ll download a 1.4GB movie from iTunes, which takes this user roughly a half-hour, and then they get to stir for another fifteen minutes when they decide to store it for future use. Big drives mean lots of (and big) files – transfer over the airwaves is a pain in the ass, 802.11n or not. I’m shopping for a new backup drive now, and won’t even consider one without (at least) Firewire 400.

It’s a lot of kit that seems destined to waste time as well as money. There’s an economic slowdown in the midst, and by the time people have money to burn there will already be something better out. Technology advances quickly, and I think Apple’s timing is off. Steve Jobs spoke, then Twitter went down? Give me a break – nobody cares.

But how about Apple’s stock price? Down 15 points in the past two days.

I found the whole bit from Piper Jaffray suspect, at best.

It seems PJ completely blew their iPod projection, and the iPod touch isn’t breaking any records either. The analysts failed to mention that Apple was handing out big red sale flyers on Friday which subsequently wound up on shopping mall benches (hence, the draw). And, 5.3 Macs and 1 iPhone per hour – the numbers were 4.3 Macs and 1.3 iPhones per hour in August. Apple could fare no better on what is supposed to be the busiest shopping weekend of the year when compared to a so-so back-to-school sales period, with a “red flyer” sale going on?

There’s more speculation here.