AT&T’s iPhone Navigation App: Free on the App Store, $10 a month on your bill…

On June 23rd, AT&T launched it’s GPS navigation app for the iPhone. I haven’t bought it, so I am not reviewing it. I just want to let everyone know that if you buy this, it’s another $10 a month on your bill. I love how AT&T charges for services Sprint gives for free. Palm Pre anyone?

Sarah Palin steps down as Alaska governor, but why?

So as I sat down finishing an article I got a “NYTIMES ALERT” on Twitter about Sarah Palin stepping down as governor of Alaska. I was a bit surprised at first, then the perplexity set in. Why would she do this? And then, she addresses her favorite group of people…the media. Please forgive the FOX News commentary throughout this YouTube video.

This speech really gave no answers. She went on about all the things she’s done, and how she doesn’t believe in “politics as usual”. I am sure resigning the governorship will be a hot topic for when she runs for president in 2012.

How reliable is the “Twitterlution”?

People have always wondered what Twitter could be used for. Most people (myself included) use Twitter to stay in touch with friends, get instant alerts from popular websites, or follow the every move of celebrities who have absolutely nothing interesting to say. However with the stolen election in Iran, Twitter has found its purpose. The Iranian people in support of opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi have taken to social media such as Twitter to spread their message to the world in a country where foreign media is gagged and lines of communication are restricted. But how reliable is it?

When I am watching the news on TV, I am watching CNN. Despite Rick Sanchez’s Twitter fever spreading to every facet of CNN (expect Larry King because he doesn’t know what a computer is) is now steeped in social media. With Twitter and this whole iReport business it seems to me like CNN is saying that anyone can be a journalist. What struck me was during most of CNN’s Iran coverage, they had a big, red, banner running at the bottom of the screen saying “Unverified Information”. CNN, like a lot of shows these days, are using social media to keep in touch with their audience. But at what point can social media be treated as a credible source?

Twitter’s use of aliases means that sources can be anyone they wish to be, and we all know what happens to stupid people when they are empowered with anonymity. Another concern is that disinformation can be easily distributed this way, and for a network reporting raw, unconfirmed information, that could be a problem. Reports from people on the ground in Iran are saying that much like the Moussavi supports use Twitter and Facebook to coordinate protests and events, the Iranian government uses it to send bad information and monitor the opposition. I just don’t think that at this point in time, Twitter can be reported as a reliable source.

Ever since the #CNNFail incident, in which the blogosphere and the twittersphere(?) accused CNN of dropping the ball a bit on the Iran Election coverage, CNN has been relying heavily on “tweeps” to provide them information on the going on in Tehran. Here is a quick excerpt from the NY Time article:

Untold thousands used the label “CNNfail” on Twitter to vent their frustrations. Steve LaBate, an Atlanta resident, said on Twitter, “Why aren’t you covering this with everything you’ve got?” About the same time, CNN was showing a repeat of Larry King’s interview of the stars of the “American Chopper” show. For a time, new criticisms were being added on Twitter at least once a second.

Andrew Sullivan, a blogger for The Atlantic, wrote, “There’s a reason the MSM is in trouble,” using the blogosphere abbreviation for mainstream media.

CNN said, “We share people’s expectations of CNN and have delivered far more coverage of the Iranian election and aftermath than any other network.”

In the end, we don’t know exactly why Twitter will be. Biz Stone said in an interview with Stephen Colbert that they are currently looking to see how they can use Twitter to make money. Other’s are touting it as the next major type of communication since the text. Twitter can be all those things, but for now, it is not a trusted source.

Letterman protests take an ignorant, hateful turn…

Pardon my lateness of this post, life has been a little hectic. Anyway, incase you haven’t been following this who Letterman vs. Palin fiasco I will bring you up to date. On “The Late Show w/ David Letterman” Letterman made a joke about A-Rod possibly impregnating Sarah Palin’s daughter while at a Yankee game. Here’s what he said…

“One awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankee game: During the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez.”

Now most people that night I am sure heard that and thought that Letterman was refering to Palin’s 18-year-old daughter Bristol, who had a son out of wedlock. But Sarah Palin, realizing the amount of media coverage she could get by faking outrage quickly claimed otherwise, saying that her younger daughter…umm Billow? Willow? Whatever.

Letterman quickly apologized and made it clear that this was in reference to Bristol, however Sarah Palin will clamp on to the media spotlight for as long as possible, continued to press the issue. This led to Palinites leading a protest outside of Letterman’s studio. But as you can see in this video, the protests took a turn for the worst.

The protests were charged with hate. These people are shouting Letterman is a pedophile, and throwing rather brash insults to his wife and family. Never have I seen so many people so outraged over nothing in my life. The man made a joke that was misunderstood and now you are calling his son a bastard and his wife a slut.

Weigh in on this in the comment section, or drop me a tweet @jlv0628.

A quick reader update…

Hey guys,

I am sure if you follow me on Twitter, you would have noticed that my iMac is now a paperweight due to a sudden and violent lightning storm that swept through North Miami last Saturday. In the mean time I have been using my Macbook Air as my main squeeze until I can get a replacement. That replacement comes today…I am actually heading to the Apple store in a bit.

Just wanted to give you a heads up on some stuff I will be posting. I have a quick piece on corperate deception during a bad economy. I heard some horror stories and as compelled to share. Also I am working on a comparison show down between Tweetie and TwitterFon Pro for the iPhone. I failed to find a good comparison review of these two apps on the interwebs, so I am taking matters in to my own hands.

And of course the usual news and politics (I promised I wouldn’t write anymore about Sarah Palin, but unfortunately that is hard to do…especially when she is coming after Letterman.)

AT&T is going about this iPhone thing all wrong…

I’ve always said that AT&T isn’t the shining star for customer service or appreciation, however given the fact that they hold the cell phone that I must own, it is something that I tolerate. AT&T, much like the other cell phone companies, would much rather piss you off than actually help you. Since the iPhone was released, AT&T has held the exclusive right to sell the device within the United States. Up to now AT&T has had its ups and downs, but for the most part they were doing okay. They took care of first-gen users by allowing them to move up to the 3G at the given price, but basically everything else that you experience is all Apple. But like I said, that’s up to now.

 Yesterday Apple released the new iPhone 3Gs, a faster, more feature rich edition of the iPhone 3G that is making Apple fanboys drool world wide. Voice Command (finally), Compass (umm finally?), 3.0MP Auto-Focus camera with video and video editing, faster processor, 7.2MBps HSDPA, it’s awesome. To be honest, I am trying real hard not to like it, because I am as poor as a internet blogger/student can be. I was thinking of selling some stuff but I am holding off…because I want to see what AT&T will do.

When the iPhone 3G was released, AT&T (whether at the behest of Apple or not) took care of first generation iPhone users by allowing them to upgrade to the 3G with the new customer price of $199 and $299 respectively. This was a great move on both Apple and AT&T’s part because this opened up ownership of the new device to the group of people who are guaranteed to buy it again. Rather than sulking away, waiting for the upgrade eligibility day to come, these people are out buying the iPhone 3G for a reasonable price. However, I was rather surprised to see that AT&T is not doing the same thing this time around. Instead, AT&T is insisting current users under contract must pay anywhere from $399 to $699 for their 3Gs. Awesome job AT&T, shut out a solid consumer base who just so happen to be your loyal subscribers. 

Though the best part of WWDC today was Apple going ahead and pressing on with the release of the iPhone 3.0 software and the iPhone 3Gs despite AT&T not being ready to support two of it’s key feature, MMS or data tethering. As I read that during the live blog I was reading I was not only proud of Apple, but pretty happy with how embarrassed AT&T should be. At the time of a major product launch, and a major software update, AT&T cannot support MMS? Something that it supports on its other devices. Some have their guesses as to what it may be, but AT&T are sticking by their guns for now and saying that MMS is to be expected by the end of summer. As far as data tethering is concerned, AT&T has said that it will support it, but has given no definitive timeline. 

This years WWDC was a great show for Apple, but a wake up call for AT&T. Rumors have been swirling around for quite sometime that Apple has been shopping a custom iPhone to Verizon, and perhaps thats a good thing. That, coupled with the increasing number of iPhone users taking their software unlocked phones to T-Mobile (and T-Mo welcoming them with open arms) should be a wake-up call to AT&T. Go out of your way to get new customers sure, but don’t forget the ones that pay the massive bill every month. Compliment the quality products you carry with quality service and support. 

 

 

WWDC 2009: “WTF AT&T?”

I am sitting here, writing my blog on Microsoft Word and huddled around my iPhone watching Engadget’s WWDC 2009 Live Blog. I am doing this because on Saturday, the Lord saw it fit to strike my home with a lightning bolt and fry my iMac, DSL line, cordless phones, bathroom lights and oddly enough, my front stove burner.

Scott Forstall just introduced the new iPhone 3.0 software (available June 17 to everyone), however there is something missing, AT&T’s support. According to Forstall, support for MMS will come “by the end of the summer” and though every carrier is supporting tethering, there was no mention of AT&T.

Frankly, I am a little outraged. MMS is supported on every other phone except the iPhone?  I am glad Apple went ahead and released the update anyway…makes AT&T looks even more like the bunch of jerk they are.

Michael Vick released from prison, dogs protest

Dog abuser Michael Vick is now out of prison and back on the streets according to ESPN. I think Michael Vick is a scum bag really, got nothing more to say. This post was solely intended to post that hilarious Family Guy video about him. Enjoy…

If you are excited for WWDC, read this blog!

Sorry, I couldn’t think of a better title for this post.

Anyway, I am not really surprised Apple has chosen WWDC to not only be their main gig, in terms of iPhone announcements and development details. I think the iPhone has sort of surpassed the “MacWorld Expos” and the “Apple Town Hall” type announcements. The iPhone itself has become a development platform on it’s own, running a mobilized version of OS X. Since its debut, the iPhone has evolved slowly as Apple released it grip gradually and started letting developers in. Proof positive that whenever you let developers in, things turn out pretty awesome. With the World Wide Developers Conference on the horizon, we have a lot to look forward, in both hardware and software.

Software-wise we are looking at the new iPhone 3.0 update. It’s been in beta since earlier this year and already we are expecting a lot of updates that bring it up to par with what the Palm Pre will be offering when it’s released from June 5-7 (according to the New York Times). MMS, a full phone search feature, cut & paste, are just a few features in the massive update. The update will also allow for features such as turn-by-turn navigation (along with some hardware help, we’ll get in to that later) and much more. Lastly, this update will activate the long awaited Push Notification Service that Apple has kept locked up for quite sometime.In fact the notification server is now also in beta testing today along with a new Associated Press app. I guess they were too scared to test it with a Twitter app, we would no doubt be having more “fail whales” than normal.

Critics, myself included, argue that this update is a long time coming. That this is an example of Apple’s stubbornness to satisfy its loyal consumer base and that nothing happens unless Apple absolutely HAS to do it. I have said numerous times on this site that I love phones like the Palm Pre, because it reminds Apple that they are not invincible. Either way, change is coming to the iPhone…sooner or later it always does and it always will. I have always said that features such as MMS and copy & paste WILL come, it’s only a matter of time and motivation. 

On the hardware front we have…umm, rumors. New camera with on phone editing capabilities that will shoot video? Better processor and larger memory and storage space? Probably. A lot of rumors are swirling around. However, I am fairly certain that Apple will release some new hardware to go along with 3.0. Don’t be surprised if it’s awesome too. Given the way things are going in terms of screen technology, we might see some OLED action with our new iPhones. Who knows? 

WWDC will be on June 8th and the keynote address will be on the same day, given by Phil Schiller. 

Obama to announce new CAFE standards tomorrow, 34 mpg a standard.

According to both the New York Times and Politico.com President Obama is set to announce new mileage standards tomorrow. The new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards are going to incorperate California’s strict standards for fuel mileage and emissions. The ultimate goal is to achieve 34 mpg by 2016. 

Look, lets be realistic. This is a great thing for the Obama Administration to do. Automakers are fully capable of achieving these levels of fuel efficiency in most of their models. However, I think President Obama needs to be more aggressive when it comes to this, especially when it comes to the American auto makers. Demand hybrid vehicles in exchange for bail out cash, enact a “gas guzzler” tax accross the board on any vehicle that does not conform to the new standards (cause frankly, if you are buying a $230,000 Italian sports car, you can afford the gas guzzler tax), push for alternative fuels and cellulosic and sugar based ethanol, and much more. But none the less, this is a great step forward.