Peon's Place

Wonder why Steve was a no-show at the Apple convention this week? Steve Jobs 1955-2011.

Jobs co-founded Apple Computer in 1976 and, with his childhood friend Steve Wozniak, marketed what was considered the world’s first personal computer, the Apple II. Industry watchers called him a master innovator — perhaps on a par with Thomas Edison — changing the worlds of computing, recorded music and communications.

In 2004, he beat back an unusual form of pancreatic cancer, and in 2009 he was forced to get a liver transplant. After several years of failing health, Jobs announced on Aug. 24, 2011 that he was stepping down as Apple’s chief executive. ”I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know,” Jobs wrote in his letter of resignation. “Unfortunately, that day has come.”

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Steve Jobs has officially resigned from his job as CEO of Apple, though he has been elected Chairman. Tim Cook, Apple’s long-time COO, who acted as CEO during Steve Jobs’ medical leaves will replace Jobs as CEO.

Apple’s Board of Directors today announced that Steve Jobs has resigned as Chief Executive Officer, and the Board has named Tim Cook, previously Apple’s Chief Operating Officer, as the company’s new CEO. Jobs has been elected Chairman of the Board and Cook will join the Board, effective immediately. “Steve’s extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world’s most innovative and valuable technology company. Steve’s extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world’s most innovative and valuable technology company,” said Art Levinson, Chairman of Genentech, on behalf of Apple’s Board. “Steve has made countless contributions to Apple’s success, and he has attracted and inspired Apple’s immensely creative employees and world class executive team. In his new role as Chairman of the Board, Steve will continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration.”  Read the rest of this entry » Steve resigns his Job wit...

The proof that Steve Jobs knew about the antenna problem, and now he’s giving away free iPhone 4 cases to fix it. Way to go, sort of. Kudos Apple, for lying to us for a month before admitting fault.

Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs says the company knew that its iPhone 4 would lose signal when held a certain way and didn’t think it would be a big issue. He offered customers a case to fix the problem.

Jobs said Apple is “working our butts off” to figure out the problem, which he called “Antennagate.” Some rival phones have the same glitch as the iPhone 4, he said today at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California. The company scheduled the event after users complained about losing reception when they held their phones in the lower- left corner. Every iPhone 4 buyer will get a free rubberized case called a Bumper, and people who already bought the accessory will get a refund, Jobs said. Customers can return their iPhone 4 for a full refund within 30 days if they’re still unsatisfied. “We care about all of our users, and we won’t stop until every one of them is happy,” Jobs said. “This is blown so out of proportion, that this is incredible.”

Apple aims to burnish the image of the iPhone after Consumer Reports opted not to recommend the phone, blaming the antenna glitch. The iPhone accounts for about 40 percent of revenue, making it a bigger moneymaker than the Macintosh computer or iPod. An Apple engineer warned Jobs last year that the metal antenna surrounding the phone might interfere with calls, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

Will Steve Jobs finally admit that his new phone has problems? I, for one, am still happy I stayed with my iPhone 3GS instead of paying to upgrade to this troubled new product.

Apple has finally acknowledged that its new iPhone has a serious public relations problem, and the company has responded by scheduling, with extraordinarily short notice, a Friday press conference on its campus in Cupertino, California (down the street from my office).

The plan is to get what it considers the key media outlets and opinion makers in technology in the same room with Steve Jobs, a man with legendary persuasive powers. His task, to use a phrase popularized by Dan (“Fake Steve Jobs”) Lyons:  To re-hypnotize the press. What will he say?

TechCrunch’s MG Seigler has sketched out a detailed scenario that includes a parade of antenna and wireless industry experts. Some are leaning toward the blow-by-blow posted on MacRumors by Will (“spblat”) Irace, a veteran systems engineer from Portland who likes to moderate discussions about taboo subjects like politics, religion and Apple Inc. This is what he envisions:

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Consumer Reports said Monday it cannot recommend the iPhone 4 after testing confirmed “there is a problem with its reception.”

The highly regarded publication said its engineers tested three iPhone 4s, and found that complaints by others about the phone’s reception are valid. Apple, contacted for comment, has not yet responded.

“When your finger or hand touches a spot on the phone’s lower left side —an easy thing, especially for lefties — the signal can significantly degrade enough to cause you to lose your connection altogether if you’re in an area with a weak signal,” Consumer Reports said. “Due to this problem, we can’t recommend the iPhone 4.”

There is, the magazine noted, an “affordable solution for suffering iPhone 4 users. Cover the antenna gap with a piece of duct tape or another thick, non-conductive material. It may not be pretty, but it works. We also expect that using a case would remedy the problem. We’ll test a few cases this week and report back.”

Read the rest of this entry » iPhone 4 cannot be recomm...

After seeing photos of an iPhone bursting into flames (faulty USB connection port on the phone) and the myriad of antennae problems and “fixes”, it’s safe to say the new iPhone 4 was never tested.

I am, however, loving the new operating system that I upgraded to on my iPhone 3GS (which still works wonderfully, by the way). So in a way, the latest iPhone was a complete success for everyone, minus those that actually purchased the new phone.

Have a laugh with Steve Jobs and Bill Gates!

As per Steve Jobs, there is nothing wrong with the reception on the iPhone 4. You’re just holding the phone wrong. All of us, who have had iPhones for several years, have been holding them wrong this whole time. It all makes sense now!

Depending on how you hold your iPhone 4 during calls you may or may not notice your reception drop. Some haven’t seen it at all, but many users have definitely experienced it while browsing, emailing or using apps. Some think it has a bit to do with your initial reception and people in stronger coverage areas are affected less. But they’re also pretty sure — and Apple confirms it — that touching the antenna does affect things — whether or not it has the final result of killing calls or speed of data connection.

Gripping any mobile phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone.With our past devices, the antenna performance when the phone was held in a certain way didn’t seem to be an issue or stand out in particular. But with the iPhone 4 we’re definitely seeing an effect, particularly when using data or tapping away on our on-screen keyboards.

This is all becoming clearer and clearer! Apple has explained that the iPhone 4 reception issues end when people just plain stop holding their devices the wrong way. If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band.This explanation does fit with the user reportsthat have been sent, but the solution isn’t exactly comfortable. It’s awkward to avoid touching the antenna points on the iPhone — especially because the glass on the phone’s back and front is extremely slippery. The bottom portion of the phone just seems like a natural place to hold the iPhone 4 in order to avoid dropping the gadget. The additional problem is that when you hold a phone for data usage — browsing or apps or email — you’re going to almost have to touch the bottom and sides at the same time. Especially in landscape mode. This is a major problem for smartphones.

There are solutions to this, however. Using a case for the phone, which you should do anyhow, will help you in not making contact with the antennae bands. Fortunately you will only have to shell out about another $30 for such a case, for a problem that Apple should have initially addressed.

Some folks report that they’ve successfully rid themselves of reception issues by wrapping a rubber band or wristband around their iPhones. It’s not exactly a great solution as you have to cut holes into the band in order to access the charging port or volume-toggle—not to mention that all your buttons are constantly pressed down. It’s a cheap solution though and simple enough to use in a pinch. Just be careful that you don’t accidentally fling your iPhone across your room like some did while trying to test this solution.

Alternatively, the easiest way is just to not hold the phone at all. If all else fails, you can just plain avoid touching your iPhone. Use a rubber band to attach it to your head, leave it speaker phone, use a headset, use the included earbuds, or learn to levitate it. It’s an awful solution, but it’s there as a very last resort.