EVO Mash Up
 
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Here's the thing, I hate Apple.  It's not that I think they make bad products, because I don't.  Notwithstanding the current iPhone 4 fiasco that is making for sensational, and even obviously overstated headlines and blog entries, I think they actually make some decent products, and for the most part have been a very innovative company.

What I truly despise about Apple is their attitude, the veritable sanctity within which they hold even their own poop.  They desperately try to portray an image of a company that can do nothing less than perfection, and all other entries in the market should bow down and worship at their fruity logo.  It's the air of disdain that they hold the users of competitors systems.  It's the absurd pricing structure they impose on their product lines.  It is the bombastic persona and attitude that starts with their leader and oozes from every pore of their corporate skin.

Steve Jobs is, without any doubt, an extraordinarily talented and brilliant individual.  His creativity is arguably unmatched in the industry.  Unfortunately for him though, he is still a mere mortal, susceptible to the same  transgressions of judgement that we all are capable of.  Clearly, this has never been more obvious than the handling of their current upheaval.

The problem isn't with the hardware.  In my own, oft misguided, opinion, the actual issue with the antenna is not nearly as detrimental as it is being portrayed.   Yes, I absolutely believe there is a technical problem that a software patch will never rectify.  To definitively resolve the issue is going to require the "bumpers" or some other guard that prevents the antenna from shorting.  However, I certainly do not think a total recall of the product is necessary.

The real problem is with the company itself, and watching their manipulation of this event has provided a nearly endless supply of fodder for all who look on and think to themselves "how the mighty has fallen".   In his deftly written article on the topic, Dave Winer, states "Apple is a company that desperately needs to grow up and wipe the smile off its face, and roll its sleeves up and start to appreciate that they're no longer the upstart, the underdog, theCrazy One in the Richard Dreyfus ad."  

He could not be closer to the truth.  It is time for the much idolized company, and their leader, to realize that their sanctimonious poop wreaks just like the common man's does, and that they need to deal with the poop outright instead of just pretending that everyone should be smelling pleasant fruity scents.  

 
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Ok, I admit it, I'm getting a little too much joy out of posting this article.  We're all aware of the issues that have been reported by users of the iPhone 4, in particular the problem of holding the phone a certain way causing the signal to drop substantially.  Well, it looks like, according to some pretty cool testing facilities that Consumer Reports has, that the issue isn't quite as insignificant as Apple would have us believe.


From the article which is linked to above:
Our findings call into question the recent claim by Apple that the iPhone 4's signal-strength issues were largely an optical illusion caused by faulty software that "mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength."

The tests also indicate that AT&T's network might not be the primary suspect in the iPhone 4's much-reported signal woes.


They go on to recommend to users that they place a strip of duct tape over the side of the phone to prevent shorting out the antenna.  Won't those iPhone users look so cool with their brand new phone all taped up! Even more to the point, it essentially calls out Apple on their outlandish claim that the signal drop was simply a software issue.  Nice try, fruity.