Conspiracy Theorists Unite!! The Black Helicopters Are Circling!!
Filed under: Apple Bashing, Apple Fanboyism, Cynicism, Rampant Speculation, Rumors, iPhone
Additive Tips is reporting that, (according to a “trusted source inside Apple”), Apple is now working with AT&T to check iOS 4 iPhones every 7-14 days or so via through OTA (over-the-air) updates to see if they’re jailbroken, and if so, it will relock them and place the users on a blacklist.
“How it works is every 7 to 14 days We (Apple) and AT&T send a message to your iPhone that gathers some data from your iPhone without you knowing and we see what is running, baseband and firmware. We then send a following message. “There are optional updates for your iPhone, Would you like to install them now?” two options “Yes” or “Later”. Those are what would would call “OPTIONAL UPDATES” Now there are things called “MANDATORY UPDATES”. They tend to work the same way, grab data from the iPhones sends it to AT&T and us then back to your iPhone with the message, “Your iPhone (name of iphone) must be updated to the current AT&T standards to run”, your only option is to “Accept” Now you can try to work your way around it until you get the second mandatory message again “You must plug iPhone into iTunes and update” If you don’t do this you will then receive no Signal from the network anymore and your iPhone will potentially lock up with no signs of use until you update your iPhone via iTunes. You all agreed to this terms and condition when you installed iTunes 9.2 and then again once you updated to iOS4. With that being Said go ahead Try to unlock the iPhone it will only last 14 days max…”
If true, this would be such a PR nightmare for both companies that I really can’t imagine anything worse for their public image. Oh wait, yes I can! According to the same source…
“Worst yet is once a person connects to another person on FaceTime it for some reason non of us in the office can figure out, sends us APPLE a message and says those two people are connecting via Facetime and gives out their location to us. So for whatever reason we need that information just blows my mind. As a consumer why would you need to let Apple know that you are connecting with a person via FaceTime, its non of Apple’s business.”
So, there you have it folks! iOS 4 is evil, Apple is evil, and AT&T is evil. (Well, there always is a LITTLE truth in every rumor).
[via TheNextWeb]
Imaginary GameBone Gamepad adds support for iPhone 4
Filed under: Awesomeness, Cynicism, Games, design, iPhone
22Moo, the Australian company that has threatened to one day release their GameBone Gamepad for the iPhone (for the past 700 days or so) has just announced that they have added iPhone 4 support to their mythological device. Instead of actually showing an iPhone 4 working in a functioning GameBone, 22moo has decided it would be better if they released yet another 3D rendering of what the GameBone might look like. Enjoy.
I don’t know, if I were 22moo I would have saved myself some PR money and also announced support for the iPhone 5 and 6, since no one expects to see a functioning GameBone before then. (22moo is free to prove us wrong at any time by sending us a review unit. We want this more than a unicorn).
Against all odds, “Pot for iPad” trade somehow goes horribly wrong
Above: 20-year-old Jacob Walker of Gilbert, AZ
If there’s only one thing that Hollywood has taught us (and there may very well be) it’s that there’s nothing more lovable than a pot head. Who wouldn’t love a laid back, always happy dude with a 2-day beard stubble and crazy hair, who wears a T-Shirt sporting some sort of hilarious design, and who only talks while laying down? I know I love them. And that’s why it’s such a shocker to find that one of these “salt of the Earth” members of our communities apparently attempted to trade his iPod touch and a couple ounces of his home grown Mary Jane (as the kids call it) for an iPad.
I don’t know, maybe it’s the aforementioned Hollywood brainwashing, but I just can’t get mad at the guy. I mean, did you see that mug shot? How perfect is his expression? And how many times have his parents seen it when asking things like “How’d the job interview go today?” and “Who ate all the wax fruit?”. Besides, the deal itself Read more
FAIL
Filed under: Apple Bashing, Apple Fanboyism, Cynicism, WTF, bugs
Thanks to faithful Macenstein reader Jurgen for the pic!
Steve Jobs is delusional
Filed under: Apple Bashing, Apple Fanboyism, Cynicism, History, Opinion, Rampant Speculation, Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs made a pretty bold claim when he responded to Bryan Webster’s eloquently written question abut the upcoming WWDC:
Wow. Them’s fightin’ words to be sure, and they certainly gave ME a chill when I first read them. I immediately had visions of a super-charged, video game playing Apple TV/DVR, fully open to developers, and an iPhone 4 with video chat and condom dispenser… Truly this WWDC is NOT going to disappoint!
But then I remembered something… history has an odd way of repeating itself. Let’s take a quick look at how the most faithful of faithful Mac addicts have reacted to the past couple WWDC announcements (via Mac Rumors).
Ouch. And we’re their biggest supporters! When you see how angry we Mac users get when Apple announces its latest technology, you wonder why Jobs and company even bother (of course a quick look at Apple’s stock price suggests some theories). And remember, all that anger is largely based on our own self-inflated expectations, based on rumors and wishful thinking. THIS year we actually have the man himself whipping us into a frothing, foaming frenzy of anticipation!
So, will this year’s WWDC disappoint? Yes. Yes it will. But, before you rush off to leave scathing comments on Mac Rumors this year, just remember, so did all the other WWDC’s, and yet ultimately you came to appreciate what Apple had accomplished, and odds are you’ve spoken with your wallets many times over. Do you own a MacBook? An iPod? An iPhone? An Apple TV? An iPad? As someone who owns (a couple of) all of the above, and who is usually underwhelmed by Apple’s keynotes, I can honestly say that an underwhelming Apple event is still 100 times better than the most exciting Microsoft event.
Of course, the only problem is Microsoft is no longer Apple’s competition – it’s Google, and they’ve got quite a lot of creative people over there. As Bryan said, Google is “taking the piss”. (Where the hell did THAT saying come from?) 2010 will be the first WWDC where Apple has really had to respond to the competition, so it should be pretty interesting.
And yes, my expectations are high, and yes, I am ready to be let down, and yes, I am ready to buy whatever Apple announces.
[UPDATED] Words with Friends tech support appears to suck
[UPDATE: They fixed my games]
Public embarrassment and ridicule – the last hope of a desperate man.
Many of my faithful readers know that I am a self-confessed “Words with Friends addict, having given the game my first and only “10 out of 10″ review for a game. I invited all of you to get the game and then come beat me (username Dr Macenstein) – and the majority of you did just that, I’m sad to say (there’s even a Facebook group dedicated to beating me). However, about a week ago upon launching the game I was greeted with an error message saying there was a problem with one of my games, and it was being repaired. Well, nearly 7 days later, a neglected support request and 3 unanswered e-mails to tech support, I feel I am out of civil options in dealing with NewToy, the makers of the game. I feel I must resort to attempting to embarrass them into responding. So here goes. Guys, please get your shit together and help out poor old support request 47942. I’ve already gotten through the shakes and sweats from Words With Friends withdrawal thanks to large amounts of Flight Control, but my despair has turned to a mighty, geeky rage! I bought this game TWICE, and yet cannot play on either my iPhone or iPad until you fix the problem, whatever it is. I suppose I can try creating a new username and starting over, but I think I have about 40 people who are just about to beat me who will be crushed if I am forced to start a new account, so Please NewToy, help the Doc out.
Man gives thieves the finger in iPad theft
Filed under: Apple Fanboyism, Cynicism, Ouch!, Theft, iPad
OK, actually, he didn’t give it to them, they took it, along with his two iPads. Ouch.
(yeah, it’s Flash only, get over it).
[via Engadget]
Steve jobs calls the kettle “black”
Filed under: Apple Bashing, Cynicism, History, Opinion, Steve Jobs, Theft, iPad, iPhone
“It’s just common sense not to use another company’s trademarks in your app name.”
Those are the words of Steve Jobs in response to an e-mail from app developer Chris Ostmo whose journalPad app was just forced to undergo an expensive re-branding or risk being pulled from the app store for including the word “Pad” in the title. The problem of course is (aside from the fact that Apple does not actually own a trademark on the word “Pad”) is Apple has done the EXACT SAME THING in the past. In fact, it only recently obtained the legal rights to use the term “iPhone” for its phone from Cisco, and the term “iPad” from Fujitsu. Both companies had products selling under those names at the time that Apple decided to put theirs out, yet they went ahead and used another company’s trademarks in their product name.
One could argue that Apple’s tactics are far worse than those of Ostmo, as no one would confuse his app with an actual iPad, where Apple was stealing other company’s hardware trademarks and slapping them on their hardware. One accidental internet order could make for a very unhappy (although presumably stupid) customer.
Still, as is the way of big business, the big fish eats the little fish, and Apple had the millions of dollars to buy the trademarks out from its fellow tech giants, where odds are Ostmo can’t buy “Pad” from Apple.
Even if it owned it.
Which it doesn’t.
[via 9to5]
iPad game pricing is gonna suck
Filed under: Cynicism, Games, Not Cool, Opinion, iPad, iPhone
Macrumors managed to get a peek at the iPad app store main page and was able to snag the following pic showing some of the upcoming prices on the new iPad-specific “HD” games.
Now, admittedly I have not played any of these games, but from the screen shots I’ve seen I have not seen a whole worth paying 5 times (or more) for any of the games I already play on the iPhone. I suppose developers think people are used to paying more for something with the words HD in the title, so they’re going to come out of the gate at least TRYING to charge more for the iPad versions of their games, but I must say seeing this screenshot has given me yet another reason to double think an iPad purchase.
I certainly support developers making money from their efforts, but if I am going to be re-buying a game I already own (and quite frankly in my mind, only recently bought), basically only to get a slightly higher-resolution version of the game so it looks nice on a larger screen, I’m not sure I’ll be laying down $5 for the likes of Flight Control (despite its Crack-like addictive qualities). In speaking with developers, it appears the process of porting a game from the iPhone to the iPad is FAR from a total rewrite, so this large a price increase seems a tad on the high side.
Perhaps developers are trying to make up for under-pricing their games on the iPhone originally, and odds are these games might sell well initially to those people who blindly pre-ordered iPads and will be desperate to get some sort of content on them, but I think it would be wise for these developers to remember many of the most successful games on the iTunes charts are priced UNDER $3, and have made their developers millions. Of course there’s always the chance these “enhanced” games have a ton of new bells and whistles in them, but for the most part they simply appear to be reformatted for the larger screen, and quite frankly a game like Flight Control does not need bells or whistles – it’s the simplicity of the game that helps it be so addictive.
I suppose time will tell how the iPad pricing eventually shakes out and whether there is any real added value in the iPad games to justify their cost. The initial batch of iPhone games started out priced about 50% higher than the average now as well, so there is some hope, and odds are there will be weekend sales and the like on iPad games just as there are for the iPhone versions, so reasonable prices may be had for those patient and vigilant enough to watch for them, but for the moment I’m not loving the HD prices.
Plane kills beach jogger listening to his iPod
You know how they say “When it’s your time to go, it’s your time to go”? Well, I can’t help but feel that a hell of a lot of people’s “time to go” might be extended if a couple of these bored ass-wipes stopped trying to fly their experimental planes.
From The Associated Press
A 38-year-old jogger from Georgia is dead after a single-engine plane making an emergency landing hit him as he ran on a South Carolina beach listening to his iPod.
The coroner said Tuesday that Robert Gary Jones of Woodstock, Ga., apparently did not hear the troubled plane that struck him from behind on Hilton Head Island The plane had lost its propeller and the pilot’s vision was blocked by oil on the windshield.
Beaufort County Coroner Ed Allen says he plans to conduct an autopsy. He says Jones was married and had two children.
Hilton Head fire and rescue spokeswoman Joheida Fister says the identities of the pilot and a passenger on the Experimental Lancair IV-P plane were not released. They were not injured.
I was going to make some lame joke about “this is exactly why I don’t jog”, but the man had two small kids (as do I), so it’s kind of a sad story that hits close to home. Besides, the real reason I stopped jogging is because I was almost killed by a totally unafraid, 50-horned male deer early one morning, and there is no way I want my kids to remember me as the guy who got killed by a deer.
Thanks to faithful Macenstein reader Jonro for the tip!
