Tuesday, July 27, 2010
The Baby Sparrow
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On Saturday evening I had gone to my house to get some clothes (I'm still living with mom and dad as I replace the plumbing my house). As I was walking across their front porch this little sparrow flew in and landed on the railing. I very carefully walked up to it, and it seemed just as interested in me as I was in it. I slowly took out my iPhone 4 and began to shoot photos and videos of this cute little guy. He let me spend about 30 minutes photographing him. He let me get the camera within about 6 inches of him.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Can One Bad Apple Ruin the Bunch?
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Their first mistake was redesigning the bars that show signal strength in the iOS 4.0.1 software update (check out the before and after shots I took with my phone). I'm sure that the corrected signal strength algorithm would work just fine with the original bar height. All that making the bars taller accomplishes is reducing many users faith that Apple actually made a change to the signal display algorithm at all.
Their second failure was the lame duck press conference that they held on July 16th. The meeting started off with a YouTube video that was very uncharacteristic of Apple, and it seemed to set the whole awkward tone for the event. The next gigantic mistake was Steve Job's comparing the iPhone 4's antenna issue to phones by their competitors as if to say they aren't the only ones with this problem. They may not be the only ones with the antenna attenuation issue, but they are the only ones in the media spotlight for it. All that this accomplished was generating some fine crafted corporate responses from their competition.
I think RIM's official response put it best:
That said, I'm not sure that there was a definite route that Apple could have taken out of this PR firestorm. I'm also not sure that there is actually a design flaw with the phone. If I were in Apple's shoes I may have very well came up with the same strategy. It seems like it was a truly no win situation for them, and sometimes you just gotta roll the hard six.
Apple's Antenna Lab
Recently Apple has been in the hot seat for its iPhone 4 antenna design. I have an iPhone 4, and, aside from a problem unrelated to the antenna that required a replacement, I have not had any trouble with the device as far as signal strength or dropped calls. However, my own experiences with the device may not reflect that of some users, but I am absolutely sure that Apple made some huge mistakes in their response.
Their first mistake was redesigning the bars that show signal strength in the iOS 4.0.1 software update (check out the before and after shots I took with my phone). I'm sure that the corrected signal strength algorithm would work just fine with the original bar height. All that making the bars taller accomplishes is reducing many users faith that Apple actually made a change to the signal display algorithm at all.Their second failure was the lame duck press conference that they held on July 16th. The meeting started off with a YouTube video that was very uncharacteristic of Apple, and it seemed to set the whole awkward tone for the event. The next gigantic mistake was Steve Job's comparing the iPhone 4's antenna issue to phones by their competitors as if to say they aren't the only ones with this problem. They may not be the only ones with the antenna attenuation issue, but they are the only ones in the media spotlight for it. All that this accomplished was generating some fine crafted corporate responses from their competition.
I think RIM's official response put it best:
"Apple's attempt to draw RIM into Apple's self-made debacle is unacceptable. Apple's claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public's understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple's difficult situation."
That said, I'm not sure that there was a definite route that Apple could have taken out of this PR firestorm. I'm also not sure that there is actually a design flaw with the phone. If I were in Apple's shoes I may have very well came up with the same strategy. It seems like it was a truly no win situation for them, and sometimes you just gotta roll the hard six.
Friday, July 16, 2010
The Renovations Continue...
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I am currently living with my parents for the first time since high school! This week my father and I are replacing the plumbing my house, and I'm currently without water. Instead of hauling water and basically camping in my own house, I decided to spend the next few days living with mom and pop (which could be an entire blog post in itself).
Grandpa installed basic plumbing in the house in the 1950s, but they didn't have a working restroom inside until the early 1970s. They used a good ol' outhouse until then. The original water lines were all one inch diameter galvanized pipes with copper and PVC added later as they added an indoor bathroom and other fixtures. This created a bit of a Frankenstein monster when it came to doing any repairs. Also, the house had the original 1956 Frigidaire water heater. It still works fine, but we felt the need to replace it (especially since it lacked many of the modern safety features).
I have wondered over the past few years why I had increasingly less water pressure in my home. The gauge at the meter showed an adequate amount of pressure, but my shower had barely a trickle. Now I know. A cross section of the old pipes revealed that my one inch lines had been reduced to barely one quarter that diameter. They looked like the arteries you see in those commercials for cholesterol medication!
Hopefully we will finish this project soon. I'm not sure how much longer my plants can survive (or me for that matter).
I am currently living with my parents for the first time since high school! This week my father and I are replacing the plumbing my house, and I'm currently without water. Instead of hauling water and basically camping in my own house, I decided to spend the next few days living with mom and pop (which could be an entire blog post in itself).
Grandpa installed basic plumbing in the house in the 1950s, but they didn't have a working restroom inside until the early 1970s. They used a good ol' outhouse until then. The original water lines were all one inch diameter galvanized pipes with copper and PVC added later as they added an indoor bathroom and other fixtures. This created a bit of a Frankenstein monster when it came to doing any repairs. Also, the house had the original 1956 Frigidaire water heater. It still works fine, but we felt the need to replace it (especially since it lacked many of the modern safety features).
I have wondered over the past few years why I had increasingly less water pressure in my home. The gauge at the meter showed an adequate amount of pressure, but my shower had barely a trickle. Now I know. A cross section of the old pipes revealed that my one inch lines had been reduced to barely one quarter that diameter. They looked like the arteries you see in those commercials for cholesterol medication!
Hopefully we will finish this project soon. I'm not sure how much longer my plants can survive (or me for that matter).
My clogged pipes (left). Dad looking for the date the water heater was manufactured & Gypsy wanting somebody to play (right).
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
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