Michael Castellon

At the core of my Cubs collection is signed and game used equipment. 

A MacRumors forum user, stationed no far from the Transformers 3 movie set in downtown Chicago, took this picture of director Michael Bay using an iPad alongside actor Patrick Dempsey.

Source: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=970036

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People who buy an iPhone 4 before Sept. 30 are eligible for free cases beginning late next week, Apple announced today in response to mounting criticism over the ongoing antennae issue. Apple never truly apologized to consumers for the mishap, or for telling users to hold their phone differently. They instead invoked the "all phones have issues" argument, despite the fact that Apple has touted the iPhone as a game changer (it is), and one that stands apart from all other phones in design, engineering and functionality.

Still unsatisfied? You have 30 days from your purchase date to return your iPhone 4 and bail out on your AT&T contract without penalty.

For the record, my iPhone 4 is awesome. But I'm still disappointed that first adopters once again got burned by Apple.

On Friday Apple will host a news conference to discuss the barrage of criticism they've faced over the iPhone 4's antennae issue. This is what needs to happen:

1. Steve Jobs needs to admit that the iPhone 4's antennae is seriously flawed. Apple knew in advance that the device had a serious flaw, as indicated by their quick entry into the Bumper business. Taking responsibility for dropped calls and reception issues needs to be the primary message.

2. Fix the problem. Not with a software update, but a real fix. At the very least, Apple needs to offer iPhone customers a free Bumper. Most companies at this point would issue a total recall of the devices. Apple will not do this. But there needs to be a corrective action. Issuing free Bumpers is the easiest fix. Issuing free Bumpers and a giving out a $50 Apple Store credit would be the ideal gesture of goodwill. Unfortunately, that's a road rarely traveled by Apple.

Check out this video on YouTube:

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SXSW panel proposals are due this Friday. If you have an idea to submit, go to http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ and get started. Submissions will be accepted after Friday, but judges will ding points for the reason that you're incompetent and can't manage deadlines.

I'm writing this post from a new, 16gb wifi-enabled iPad. I was late to the iPad party. First, it took me awhile to decide whether I wanted an iPad. Once I made that decision, it became very difficult to actually purchase one. Both Apple Stores here in Austin have been sold out for weeks and have implemented a waiting list to distribute what little stock they do receive each week. I received an email from Apple today telling me that the iPad i reserved two weeks ago was in stock. I had 24 hours to pick it up before it would be released. I imagine this is the typical purchasing experience of most people who aren't able to get one off the shelf. The iPad is beautiful to use. It's very fast, and the display looks terrific. I wish the resolution matched that of the iPhone 4, but I'm certain that it will in future iterations. What's also lacking is a front facing and rear-side camera for FaceTime. Typing on the iPad is somewhat effortless. I'm writing this within the Wordpress for iPad app. I wouldn't want to write more than two pages or so of text, but for quick posts there's a lot of value. Many of my iPhone apps needed to be upgraded in order to work on the iPad in full resolution. Some popular apps, including Facebook, don't have an iPad version yet, which means users will have to use a small version, or zoom in to a more pixelated experience. I'm looking forward to using Netflix for iPad, which let's me stream movies from my instant queue. I haven't installed Pages, as Evernote and Simplenote seem to meet my writing needs.

By now we all know the story about the iPhone 4’s reception issues, specifically those involving a dramatically reduced signal if you hold the phone in your left hand, with the lower portion of your palm covering the bottom left quadrant of the iPhone’s bezel-based antennae. In fact, the problem can be replicated by simply holding the phone on either side, just where the bezel gaps are. The reception problem is frustrating enough. But what’s more annoying is that Apple is treating the problem not as a hardware issue –– one that needs to be fixed –– but rather as a communications problem, one that requires gently prodding disappointed customers into the false realization that this is a non-issue. Recently, when one customer emailed Steve Jobs to complain, Jobs famously replied, “Just avoid holding it that way.” Apple has since added slightly more finesse to the company line, but the bottom line remains the same: customers should shutup and be happy with what they have:

Gripping any mobile phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.

But note that even Apple’s own commercials depict users holding the phone in the exact opposite way Jobs and Apple say you should. Absent from the iPhone 4 commercial are cases or bumbers, with nary a glitch or a slowdown in reception. See my screenshots below from the latest Apple iPhone 4 FaceTime video. Apple’s own marketing depicts the phone being used incorrectly, and in a way that compromises voice and data performance: [gallery link="file"]