Interesting Current Events

[VinReaper]

Cover of Today's NY Post: July, 3 2000

Apple: iPhone using wrong formula to determine signal strength
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Last Updated: 10:59 AM, July 2, 2010
Posted: 10:38 AM, July 2, 2010


Apple Inc. said Friday that it was "stunned" to find that its iPhones have for years been using a "totally wrong" formula to determine how many bars of signal strength they are getting.
Apple said that's the reason behind widespread complaints from users that the latest model, iPhone 4, can show a sudden plunge in signal strength when they hold it in a way that covers a small black strip on one edge of the phone. Users online have jokingly called this the "death grip" for the phone.
That drop seems exaggerated because the phone can wrongly display four or five bars of signal strength when it shouldn't, Apple said.

AP
The iPhone 4
"Their big drop in bars is because their high bars were never real in the first place," the company said in a letter to users.
Apple launched the iPhone 4 on June 24 in the U.S. and four other countries.
Some outside engineers and users have blamed the iPhone 4's apparent reception problems on the novel design that incorporates its antenna into the case. But the company said that any phone will show reduced reception if held in a way that covers the antenna, usually mounted at the rear and bottom of a phone. It maintains that iPhone 4's wireless performance is better than previous models. And it said the incorrect signal-strength formula existed in the original iPhone, launched in 2007.
Apple, which is based in Cupertino, Calif., said it will fix its signal strength formula to conform to other AT&T phones through a free software update for iPhone models 3G, 3Gs and 4 within a few weeks.
"We are also making bars 1, 2 and 3 a bit taller so they will be easier to see," Apple said.
Despite recurring complaints about dropped calls and slow data service, particularly in the U.S., the iPhone is a standout success, with each model selling faster than the previous one. Apple said it sold 1.7 million iPhone 4s in its first three days, essentially running out of stock.
AT&T Inc., the exclusive iPhone carrier in the U.S., has faced much of the users' blame for dropped calls and poor wireless performance. Apple apologized to customers Friday "for any anxiety we may have caused."
Meanwhile, Apple said today that a purported email exchange between CEO Steve Jobs and a customer, in which Jobs supposedly said "it's just a phone," was fake.


VR

[VinReaper]

A Knife Made From Fiber Optic Glass



This beautiful handmade knife is shaped entirely from fiber optic glass. You know, the stuff that gives us super fast internet. A knifemaker used a process called knapping, a throwback method of shaping stones into useful tools, to form it.

Knapping is considered art, and I'd totally agree with this if I didn't think the knife sort of looked like Jello. Beautiful, sweet Jello that could stab you. You can buy your own fiber optic knife for $165.

And the first comment from the article on the web was...(and not by me! LOL)



"Oh yeah how do you fair against claws made of Adamantium metal alloy?!"





VR

[VinReaper]

Asurion No Longer Assures You an Original Droid – Production Ceased, May Have to Settle for a Low-End Device
by Quentyn Kennemer on July 22nd, 2010

We’ve gotten reports that Asurion’s stopped replacing broken Motorola Droids with non-broken Motorola Droids. Instead, they’ve been replacing them with the HTC Droid Eris, the Motorola Devour, or the LG Ally. I’ve never been one to be wary of device insurance – surely they must have enough stock to cover you should your investment ever tank, no?

No, indeed. After having to pay $6-$8 per month since the day the Motorola Droid came out, users can no longer get the same phone that they know and love. While we understand the monthly charge doesn’t cover the entire cost of device repair and replacement (that’s why we’re faced with those stinging deductibles), it’s not fair to be told you have to settle for something less: you did sign a contract for the Motorola Droid, after all.



Droid-Life confirmed those suspicions as their tipster shows them that the Motorola Droid is no longer in production by Motorola. Sensible considering the Droid X was just released and the Droid 2 is on its way, but there should be a hefty backstock of these devices (refurbished or otherwise) for the hefty user base Verizon adopted when it was introduced. You’re pretty much being told “be careful with your phone that you paid for and paid for insurance on top of it, or else you’ll never see it again.” That’s pretty unsettling.


Take care of those phones Forum Fam!

VR

[VinReaper]

ZTE Peel for the iPod Touch passes through the FCC on its way to Sprint



The ZTE Peel 3200, a Sprint-branded sleeve with mobile hotspot functionality and EV-DO connectivity, was spotted at the FCC. The curious device sports a sleeve-style form factor that appears to be ideally suited for the iPod Touch. Details are sparse on the device but it is clearly a mobile hotspot with integrated GPS and support for up to 5 Wi-Fi-enabled devices. Any Sprint users out there who would consider using this with VoIP as an alternative to an AT&T iPhone?

VR

[statman]

Originally Posted by VinReaper

ZTE Peel for the iPod Touch passes through the FCC on its way to Sprint



The ZTE Peel 3200, a Sprint-branded sleeve with mobile hotspot functionality and EV-DO connectivity, was spotted at the FCC. The curious device sports a sleeve-style form factor that appears to be ideally suited for the iPod Touch. Details are sparse on the device but it is clearly a mobile hotspot with integrated GPS and support for up to 5 Wi-Fi-enabled devices. Any Sprint users out there who would consider using this with VoIP as an alternative to an AT&T iPhone?

VR

Cool! Now you can turn an iPod Touch into a Sprint smartphone... sort of. Sweet!

[statman]

Originally Posted by VinReaper

Asurion No Longer Assures You an Original Droid – Production Ceased, May Have to Settle for a Low-End Device
by Quentyn Kennemer on July 22nd, 2010

We’ve gotten reports that Asurion’s stopped replacing broken Motorola Droids with non-broken Motorola Droids. Instead, they’ve been replacing them with the HTC Droid Eris, the Motorola Devour, or the LG Ally. I’ve never been one to be wary of device insurance – surely they must have enough stock to cover you should your investment ever tank, no?

No, indeed. After having to pay $6-$8 per month since the day the Motorola Droid came out, users can no longer get the same phone that they know and love. While we understand the monthly charge doesn’t cover the entire cost of device repair and replacement (that’s why we’re faced with those stinging deductibles), it’s not fair to be told you have to settle for something less: you did sign a contract for the Motorola Droid, after all.



Droid-Life confirmed those suspicions as their tipster shows them that the Motorola Droid is no longer in production by Motorola. Sensible considering the Droid X was just released and the Droid 2 is on its way, but there should be a hefty backstock of these devices (refurbished or otherwise) for the hefty user base Verizon adopted when it was introduced. You’re pretty much being told “be careful with your phone that you paid for and paid for insurance on top of it, or else you’ll never see it again.” That’s pretty unsettling.


Take care of those phones Forum Fam!

VR

I'll be PISSED off if my Droid X ever breaks and they don't have a replacement for me. That's what this insurance is supposed to be for! Hopefully, I'll never have to find out.

[VinReaper]

Originally Posted by statman

I'll be PISSED off if my Droid X ever breaks and they don't have a replacement for me. That's what this insurance is supposed to be for! Hopefully, I'll never have to find out.

And remember! After a year of having it, just cancel the insurance because it doesn't cover replacement after a year. The insurance will give you a new phone of equivalent value, not technological value, and require you to pay a deductible. Not worth it. Just buy a new hone! Or hold out for the new every two!


VR

[VinReaper]

Comic book buff selling rare copy of Batman No. 1
Mon Aug 2, 7:04 am ET



FAIRBANKS, Alaska – A longtime Alaska comic book buff is selling one of the gems in his vast collection, a rare copy of Batman No. 1 published 70 years ago.

Mike Wheat of Fairbanks has put the 1940 comic book on the auction block through Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries, where it's expected to fetch more than $40,000. Online bids already have climbed to $35,000 for the book, believed to be one of fewer than 300 still in existence.

Online bids will compete with a live auction set for Thursday.

The second and fourth Batman issues also will be part of Thursday's auction. They are expected to bring more than $5,000 combined.

Wheat, a retired city wastewater treatment plant operator, said he considers the Batman comics an investment. He said it feels like the right time to sell.

"I just decided it's time for someone else to have it," he said.

The Batman No. 1 comic book was discovered after local businessman Ron Jaeger bought an old dresser at a garage sale in the early 1970s, then kept it in storage for a few years. When Jaeger finally brought it out, he noticed one of the drawers didn't slide easily.

Three comic books and a few old issues of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner were tucked beneath the drawer and a quarter-inch piece of plywood. The haul included a copy of Batman No. 1, Superman No. 17 and an old issue of a Red Ryder Western comic.

Wheat already had a reputation as an avid comic collector in 1974, and Jaeger sold him the comic books for $300.

The auction house has handled many copies of Batman No. 1, but Wheat's copy is notable because the low humidity and cool temperatures in Fairbanks have kept the paper in excellent condition, said Barry Sandoval, director of comic auctions and operations at Heritage. Old comics were printed on cheap newsprint, but the pages in Wheat's copy remain white and crisp.

"If we got a Batman No. 1 from Texas or Louisiana, if you opened it up after 70 years the pages would start to crumble," Sandoval said.

The condition of comics is graded on a scale of one to 10. Wheat's copy has been graded a 5.5. That's a middling score for a newer comic, but impressive for a vintage copy.

"I see how most comics from that era look," Sandoval said. "Most 70-year-old comics are in pretty rough shape."

Batman No. 1 was the first solo spin-off for the character, who made his first appearance in 1939 as a character in Detective Comics No. 27. The debut includes the original appearances by two of Batman's key foes, the Joker and Catwoman.


VR

[VinReaper]

Is this the R2-D2 Droid 2?
Posted on Wednesday, Aug 11, 2010 by Phil Nickinson

R2-D2 Droid 2



Look at this R2-D2 Droid 2. (Say that 10 times fast.) We've been staring at it for all of 5 minutes now and have come to the following conclusions:

* If you know whether Han shot first, it's likely the most beautiful thing you've ever seen in your life.
* If you have no idea what that means, you're likely perfectly normal and will go on to live a perfectly ordinary life.

We're not going to choose sides. We love all of our smartphones equally. Even the hideous ones.



VR

[VinReaper]

Mon Aug 23, 9:18 am ET

BEIJING (AFP) – Thousands of vehicles were bogged down Monday in a more than 100-kilometre (62-mile) traffic jam leading to Beijing that has lasted nine days and highlights China's growing road congestion woes.

The Beijing-Tibet expressway slowed to a crawl on August 14 due to a spike in traffic by cargo-bearing heavy trucks heading to the capital, and compounded by road maintenance work that began five days later, the Global Times said.

The state-run newspaper said the jam between Beijing and Jining city had given birth to a mini-economy with local merchants capitalising on the stranded drivers' predicament by selling them water and food at inflated prices.

That stretch of highway linking Beijing with the northern province of Hebei and the Inner Mongolia region has become increasingly prone to massive jams as the capital of more than 20 million people sucks in huge shipments of goods.




Traffic slowed to a snail's pace in June and July for nearly a month, according to earlier press reports.

The latest clog has been worsened by the road improvement project, made necessary by highway damage caused by a steady increase in cargo traffic, the Global Times said.

China has embarked in recent years on a huge expansion of its national road system but soaring traffic periodically overwhelms the grid.

The congestion was expected to last into mid-September as the road project will not be finished until then, the newspaper said.

The roadway is a major artery for the supply of produce, coal and other goods to Beijing.


We certainly can't complain anymore!


VR