Posted by
Kevin Smith – 6/30/07
Alright, so, a little update. I went to the Apple Store here in Green Hills with my roommate Chris and a buddy, Josh. I was just gonna get a power adapter for my Macbook Pro (Turns out that even though I’d already cleared it with AppleCare online, they’d still like to look at it in-store to make sure of the problem. Take a look at it now, you ask? Sorry, the Genius Bar is closed. You can buy an adapter and return it later… Great.)
It also turns out that Josh didn’t just want to look at an iPhone, he wanted to buy one. And instead of coming with us to dinner, he was gonna wait in line for it. It looked like there were about 200-300 people in front of him. “Alright, we’re gonna go eat at Carrabba’s, and we’ll meet you at the tree.” (The tree was 10 feet ahead. It was hilarious at the time, I promise.)
Gotta give it to the folks at the Apple Store, they really know how to work a line through the store quickly. We got back an hour later and Josh was sitting with his sleek, shiny new 8G iPhone beaming with joy and activating it on iTunes. It had only taken him about 45 minutes to get through and get his iPhone. Impressive. And iPhone is especially impressive. Seriously, it is a super cool gadgetron (I figure it’s more than just a mere gadget). Everything is great about it except for the network it’s on. AT&T? Really?
We all went to a local restaurant to chill later on tonight, and on one side of the normal 4-top table the phone had full bars. On the other side, zilch. Good thing the restaurant had Wi-Fi or we wouldn’t have been able to watch YouTube videos. (Which, for the time being, aren’t very plentiful… the search function doesn’t turn up much. My guess is that iPhone is only showing videos encoded with the H.264 codec, and YouTube isn’t very far along in the process of re-encoding all the videos.)
Like I said, maybe I’d get one if it were with Verizon (even though they’re notorious for crippling all the cool features of their phones). I like everything about AT&T’s service except the network. Rollover minutes are cool. Not locking my phone down is cool. The network blows. Verizon’s network with AT&T’s everything else… that would be a great plan. I mean, or AT&T could quit having a terrible network. Then I’ll get an iPhone.
Posted by
Kevin Smith – 6/29/07
Today is probably the worst day that the power supply for my Macbook Pro could fail. The cost of replacing it isn’t a problem, it’s covered by the AppleCare warranty. But once I explained the problem to the tech support rep, he asked if I’d like to have a replacement shipped to me or did I just want to pick one up from a local Apple Store. “I’ll just pick one up, I really can’t have any downtime with the computer.”
“Sure, not a problem,” he tells me. “Keep in mind, sir, that today is the launch of the iPhone, so there may be a line at the Apple Store.”
Oh cwap. I completely forgot. In fact, the Nashville store is even closed right now to prep for the launch. It opens again at 6 p.m., and I’m sure it’s gonna be crazy. I guess I’ll be there, but not for an iPhone (maaaaaybe I’d get one if it were on Verizon, but still… you can’t wait a week or two to just walk in to the store and get one? Who are these people who have this kind of expendable income, yet can leave their jobs to wait in line for 5 days?). I just need to get a daggum power supply.
Anyway, online today I came across this: some loon waiting in line for an iPhone attacked a Fox News reporter as she was interviewing Newsweek tech columnist Steven Levy, one of the few folks to receive an iPhone in advance. Levy is holding one the iPhones, which are going for an insane price of up to $1200 on eBay, and the guy grabs the reporter’s mic instead of the iPhone. “Gimme the f*in’ mic, don’t f*in’ mess with me,” he says as he bounds away.
He didn’t go far though. You can imagine the amount of security surrounding an event like this. Here’s more (including a video).
Posted by
Kevin Smith – 6/24/07
Fred Thompson, in addition to playing the even-keeled D.A. Arthur Branch on Law and Order, is a former Republican senator from Tennessee and, though unannounced, seems to be a viable candidate for the Republican nomination for President. I was reading this article just now, and Thompson had a great point to make about diplomacy:
“Of course, diplomacy is always to be preferred in our dealings with dangerous regimes,” he said. But he added: “The words of our leaders command much closer attention from adversaries when it is understood that we and our allies are prepared to use force when force is necessary.”
Now, it’s not that these sentiments have never been expressed, I just particularly enjoy his phrasing. Perhaps it’s because the tone of his statement seems to foreshadow the kind of president he would be: level-headed and intelligent. I hope he declares an intent to run, and I hope he snags the Republican nomination. I actually like this guy.