From: Robert X. Cringely [mailto:cringely@newsletter.infoworld.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2007 4:40 PM
To: infoworld@fkx.com
Subject: Notes from the Field: Apple to iPhone fans: Bite me
Editor's Note: Owing to technical difficulties with our delivery system, we
have been unable to send newsletters since Monday.
InfoWorld apologizes for the delay.
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ROBERT X. CRINGELY
http://www.infoworld.com/
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Thursday, September 6, 2007
* Apple to iPhone fans: Bite me
* Tales of tech terror
* New Apple iPods? The bleat goes on
* Geek Week in Review
* Vista SP1: You oughta know beta
* Facebook faces the music
* Acer buys the farm (with cows)
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APPLE TO IPHONE FANS: BITE ME
All those eager Appletons who waited in line to plunk down $600 for their
new iPhones last June are probably feeling like they just graduated from
Screw U. At yesterday's 'Special Event,' Apple announced that it's
killing off the 4GB iPhone and slashing the price on the 8GB models by
$200, or 33 percent. Isn't that special? No word on rebates for those
poor suckers who surfed the tsunami of hype into Apple stores on June
29. Everybody pays a premium for being an early adopter. But usually
that buys you geek-bragging rights for at least a year, not two... ...
More of this blog at:
http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=1945195:C4A5CB05177CA9C0083B66CEC47117
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TALES OF TECH TERROR
After my debacle attempting to replace my HP battery backup unit (the new
one appears to be working fine, knock on wood), I received several
emails from Cringesters with even more horrifying support stories -
mostly HP or Dell sufferers. Here are four of the most chilling,
slightly edited for clarity and length: The BIOS From Beyond the Grave
K. T.'s tale of terror begins when he foolishly agreed to let HP
automatically update the BIOS on his new Pavilion 7680n. Within 30
seconds my PC froze and would not reboot again. I called HP Tech support
(India) and got... ...
More of this blog at:
http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=1945198:C4A5CB05177CA9C0083B66CEC47117
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NEW APPLE IPODS? THE BLEAT GOES ON
The cryptic invitations have been emailed, the blogs are buzzing, and
Steve Jobs has sent his black turtleneck out to be steam-fluffed. It can
only mean one thing: another Apple 'Special Event' is coming. Tomorrow,
Apple will unveil ... something. Smart money is on a new iPod that looks
a lot like the iPhone, runs the Mac OS, and updates via WiFi. Some folks
are betting Apple might also roll out a new, less stratospherically
priced iPhone Nano with a smaller form factor but limited Internet
chops. And then there are all those rumors about self-professed Beatles
nut Jobs getting... ...
More of this blog at:
http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=1945194:C4A5CB05177CA9C0083B66CEC47117
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GEEK WEEK IN REVIEW
Genuinely disadvantaged. Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage servers
went titsup last weekend, giving thousands of legitimate Vista users the
bum's rush. And is anybody really surprised? Vista users who were
incorrectly flagged as scurvy OS pirates lost the use of their precious
Aero interface - not good, but not quite the WGA nightmare so
brilliantly described by my colleague Randall Kennedy. The cause? "Human
error," according to Microsoft. But not, apparently, by the human who
came up with the cockeyed WGA scheme in the first place. Setting sales.
They've reshuffled the deckchairs on the good ship Yahoo again. New/old
honcho Jerry... ...
More of this blog at:
http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=1945193:C4A5CB05177CA9C0083B66CEC47117
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VISTA SP1: YOU OUGHTA KNOW BETA
"At Microsoft, quality is job SP1." Cringester and book author John
Hedtke came up with that little gem, as pithy as any real Microsoft
slogan and far more accurate. We may finally have a chance to test it
out, now that Microsoft has released the schedule for Vista's Service
Pack 1. (What does it say about a company when it takes six months for
it to release the schedule of when it will release the beta of the fix
to the operating system it took more than five years to build? More and
more, new Microsoft operating systems resemble massive... ...
More of this blog at:
http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=1945197:C4A5CB05177CA9C0083B66CEC47117
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FACEBOOK FACES THE MUSIC
Bad news, Facebook fans. It turns out the Internet is full of spammers,
scammers, and naughty naughty men. Who knew? Three months after opening
its APIs to the world and inviting developers to build applications for
the surging social network, Facebook has decided to close those doors
just a wee bit. The reason? App developers are using spam tactics and
viral marketing to the point of influenza -- making many Facebookers
sorry they installed the things in the first place. Take the "Likeness"
application, developed by somebody named Peter Louis. This silly little
applet lets you take a quiz to... ...
More of this blog at:
http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=1945199:C4A5CB05177CA9C0083B66CEC47117
08EFF29049075316B4
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ADVERTISEMENT
ENCRYPTING BACKUPS TO SAFEGUARD PRIVATE DATA
Avoid public humiliation and diminished customer confidence as a
result of theft or disappearance of backup tapes. Attend this
Webcast to learn about encrypting backups and how this approach
not only helps protect private data, but also helps companies meet
regulatory compliance requirements. Sponsored by Vormetric.
http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=194519F:C4A5CB05177CA9C0083B66CEC47117
08EFF29049075316B4
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========================================================================
ACER BUYS THE FARM (WITH COWS)
For years Gateway Inc. has been standing by the side of the freeway with
a sign around its neck saying "Will work (or be acquired) for food," but
nobody was willing to slow down long enough for it to jump into the back
of the truck. But Taiwan electronics giant Acer apparently liked what it
saw enough to spend $710 million on them. Goodbye goofy cow boxes, hello
Chinese takeout boxes. Acer would also inherit Gateway's option to
acquire Packard Bell (aka the Pauly Shore of computing; you thought they
were dead but they're not, and still you don't care).... ...
More of this blog at:
http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=1945196:C4A5CB05177CA9C0083B66CEC47117
08EFF29049075316B4
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -
ADVERTISEMENT
ENCRYPTING BACKUPS TO SAFEGUARD PRIVATE DATA
Avoid public humiliation and diminished customer confidence as a
result of theft or disappearance of backup tapes. Attend this
Webcast to learn about encrypting backups and how this approach
not only helps protect private data, but also helps companies meet
regulatory compliance requirements. Sponsored by Vormetric.
http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=194519F:C4A5CB05177CA9C0083B66CEC47117
08EFF29049075316B4
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