Technically Speaking

Not really an adventure, but on Saturday morning I decided to try my luck at the local Apple store in the STL area. I saw the line was only about 20 deep, so I figured I may as well join in on the phone fun.

The line only took about 1 hour, and I was in and out of the actual store in under 15 minutes with an activated iPhone 3G. So yes, I technically contributed to these numbers.

I agree with others out there that this phone is going to be changing the way we all do business remotely. The apps that are out there are overwhelming and the ones I downloaded work really well.

The only drawback I see so far is that the battery does suck down really quickly in 3G mode, but other than that, after a full charge once my battery died, the battery life into this week (Sunday into Monday now) has been really good. I guess though, battery life is suppose to be a lot better than a Palm Treo 750 according to PC World.

Technically Speaking, did I really need an iPhone 3G? Not really, but I more or less said I was getting one once they released a 3G version, and I pretty much do what I say when possible. That’s just me. Never had anything against the old version except I knew that the 3G version would be more worthwhile to wait for. If you have an iPhone experience you’d like to share from the weekend, leave a comment here or on my FriendFeed.

About the only thing that is interesting this morning, unless you are in the EU and are buying an unlocked iPhone. Thankfully (it’s early, but tomorrow is Thanksgiving!) I work with some smart dudes who converted me over to a Mac. The switch was painless, and OS X is hands down a much better OS than Vista!

Technically Speaking, if you get the chance this holiday season, switch to a Mac and consider some of the new features and referral program available with Lending Club’s p2p lending!

Your iPhone is bugged. Well not technically bugged, but it appears that this morning’s news that interest me has an article on this. I guess we don’t need to fear big brother, but BB Steve Jobs is already hard at work. Now if you factor in the cost of the iPhone, it sounds like v1 of this device is pretty much a rip off.

Not only are you paying way more for something that is kind of cool, but now they are tracking you and your phone. According to the article, this is every iPhone worldwide. There is no place to hide from the iPhone police. Interesting that Apple would allow this kind of low intercept your data type of tactic in a product they hinged a lot on this past June.

The real funny thing about all of this is that you the iPhone owner consented to this invasion of your privacy:

When you interact with Apple, we may collect personal information relevant to the situation, such as your name, mailing address, phone number, email address, and contact preferences; your credit card information and information about the Apple products you own, such as their serial numbers and date of purchase; and information relating to a support or service issue.

What is even more interesting is the fact after all the hack attempts, it is now just coming to light that they are tracking you - everywhere. Of course now the most interesting thing is that not only did you pay a bunch for the iPhone, but you also consented to them invading your privacy.

Technically Speaking, makes me want to go out and spend some cash flow on an iPhone today - NOT!

Well that is a new one on me. Eisner seems to think that striking writers should be barking up Cupertino Lane, or rather the home of Steve Jobs and Apple.

Eisner, a well-known critic of Apple (whose CEO, Steve Jobs, is a powerful member of Disney’s board of directors), suggested that the profits may be getting sucked up elsewhere. The studios “make deals with Steve Jobs, who takes them to the cleaners. They make all these kinds of things, and who’s making money? Apple! They should get a piece of Apple. If I was a union, I’d be striking up wherever he is.”

Kind of funny how Eisner is also the head of the experimental online show Prom Queen, a show that I referred to in a post the other day. He states that it’s a “fun project” and that it’s a money loser; not a money maker.

Cavuto, naturally, played devil’s advocate and asked Eisner why he’s sticking with it. “First of all, I’m doing it because I think it’s fun, I think it’s the future, and I think it’s interesting,” Eisner replied, “(but) I’m begging advertisers to give me enough money to break even.”

Begging advertisers to give Eisner enough money. I don’t quite think it is to that level, and I really can’t see Mr. Eisner on his hands and knees begging for cash. Everyone knows the truth.

The truth is that online entertainment, be it audio or video is all headed online. Whether the video realm is making any money now, or in three years (where he pulled that number from, I’d really like to know), it really doesn’t matter. What matters is that television with this strike has only hurried the inevitable. That is the death of television as we know it.

With content online improving every day, there is not a need for people to spend their money on cable or dish. There will be the day when everyone will be streaming shows to that flat screen. You may think that there are shows that are not online. Think again, as even the local news has started to put a majority of their stories if not their entire nightly newscast online.

I wish the writers well in their strike, but either they need to come to agreement quickly, or they will be looking for work. Where? Online for some new media company that does nothing but put content out on the internet. No television station licenses, no FCC, no regulation.

Technically Speaking, shows will (as they are now) be a bit sketchy to start, but once the writing begins to improve, you will see that online video is the way to go. If you really think about it, the shows of the 1950’s weren’t that great, and improved over time.

While I’m at it, here is the LC afternoon post - a great look iPhones and Ron Paul even!

Voyager was unveiled yesterday. Is it the answer to the iPhone. Kind of looks like it might be, only the fact that Verizon likes to censor your data as discussed yesterday. That in itself is a no sell in my mind. As far as iPhone clones go, this will be the first of many, so Apple better innovate again or at least lower their price point.

Free Music - Well let’s hope for music’s sake alone, that never comes to pass. If that ever happens, forget about artists ever releasing any music. They may as well just go on tour forever. Let people pirate them, and than find them and shake them down for a cut of the bootleg profits. I saw the article yesterday on the Radiohead experiment. This should be quite interesting. If the demand keeps the price at least in the $0.79 range I would say they won, and there will be a new business model to follow. One point that I do agree with is that with the p2p sharing, you sometimes end up with total crap.

Facebook - Is it just a great theory and we are all along for the ride? Well count me in, as I always told my band members - hang on for the ride, the train has left the station. No idea why I use the “train” example, but if Facebook fails, it won’t be for quite some time. There are far too many companies with a vested interest to let the “train” crash anytime soon.

Technically Speaking, that was all that interested me so far this morning. If you feel any of them belong as a GMAFB, by all means go post it now as I have some people looking over the site in the next day or so. Sign Up to post, vote, and comment! Here are 34 that need a break.